GIFT  OF 

SEELEY  W.  MUDD 

and 

GEORGE  1.  COCHRAN    MEYER  ELSASSER 
DR.  JOHN  R.  HAYNES    WILLIAM  L.  HONNOLD 
JAMES  R.  MARTIN         MRS.  JOSEPH  F.  SARTORI 

to  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SOUTHERN  BRANCH 


JOHN  FISKE 


THE   UNITED   STATES 

AND  ITS  PEOPLE 


FOR    TOUNG   AMERICANS 


BY 

EDWARD    EGGLESTON 


NEW   YORK 

D.   APPLETON    AND  COMPANY 
1889 


85936 


COPYRIGHT,  1888, 
BY  D.   APPLETON  AND   COMPANY. 


EGGLESTON'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 
for  the  Young  is  published  in  two  forms : 

I.  A  School  Edition,  with  questions,  blackboard  illustrations,  geo- 
graphical studies,  and  other  apparatus  for  the  use  of  teachers. 

II.  The  "  Household  History,"  in  which  the  questions,  etc.,  are 
omitted,  and  the  text  enlarged,  with  additional  illustrations,  etc. 


PREFACE. 


THE  present  work  is  meant,  in  the  first  instance,  for  the 
young — not  alone  for  boys  and  girls,  but  for  young  men  and 
women  who  have  yet  to  make  themselves   familiar  with   the 
more  important  features  of  their  country's  history.     By  a  book 
for  the  young  is  meant  one  in  which  the  author   studies   to 
make  his  statements  clear  and  explicit,  in  which  curious  and 
picturesque  details  are  inserted,  and  in  which  the  writer  does 
£0  not  neglect  such  anecdotes  as  lend  the  charm  of  a  human  and 
^  personal   interest   to  the   broader   facts  of   the   nation's   story. 
o  That  history  is  often  tiresome  to  the  young  is  not  so  much 
"^  the  fault  of  history  as  of  a  false  method  of  writing  by  which 
fti  one  contrives  to  relate  events  without  sympathy  or  imagina- 
tion, without  narrative  connection  or  animation.     The  attempt 
to   master   vague    and    general   records   of    kiln-dried   facts   is 
certain  to  beget  in  the  ordinary  reader  a  repulsion  from  the 
study  of  history — one  of  the  very  most  important  of  all  studies 
for  its  widening  influence  on  general  culture. 

As  the  traits  which  render  an  historic  narrative  attractive 
to  the  young  are  likely  to  make  it  interesting  to  older  people, 
I  do  not  despair  of  finding  readers  beyond  the  special  class 
for  which  this  book  is  prepared.  There  are  intelligent  people, 
no  longer  young,  may  be,  who  will  think  none  the  worse  of 


•  PREFACE. 

my  book  that  it  strives  to  make  the  causes  and  results  of 
public  events  clear,  and  to  trace  with  simplicity  our  present 
institutions  from  their  springs  downward,  that  it  relates  curious 
details  of  life  and  manners,  and  now  and  then  turns  aside  to 
tell  an  incident  illustrative  of  character,  or  dwells  with  a  little 
momentary  fondness  on  the  exploits  of  a  Benjamin  Church, 
the  heroism  of  a  Nathaniel  Bacon,  and  the  adventures  of  a 
Daniel  Boone. 

I  know  of  no  surer  way  of  making  life  tedious  to  a  reader 
than  the  method  of  considering  the  early  history  of  the  United 
States  as  the  history  of  thirteen  petty  communities  and  their 
intestine  squabbles.  It  is,  of  course,  indispensable  that  one  shall 
give  an  account  of  the  origin  of  each  of  the  thirteen  colonies, 
but  for  the  rest  I  have  preferred  to  consider  the  country  as  a 
whole,  and  the  people  before  and  after  the  Revolution  as 
essentially  one,  omitting  particulars  which  are  neither  interest- 
ing nor  instructive.  Two  classes  of  facts  have  especially 
claimed  attention :  First,  those  events,  great  or  small,  which 
have  exerted  an  influence  on  the  general  current  of  our  history 
or  modified  our  institutions.  These  must  be  understood,  in 
order  to  keep  in  mind  that  chain  of  causes  and  effects  which 
makes  history  reasonable  and  intelligible.  The  second  class 
includes  those  facts  which  make  the  individual  traits  of  great 
men  vivid  to  us,  and,  more  important  still,  those  which  enable 
us  to  understand  the  character  and  modes  of  life  of  the  body 
of  the  people  in  times  different  from  our  own.  The  old  his- 
torians took  note  of  nobody  but  princes,  courtiers,  and  generals. 
But  history,  like  everything  else,  has  become  more  democratic 


PREFACE.  v 

in  these  modern  days,  and  the  real  hero  of  the  historian's  story 
to-day  is  the  community  itself.  "  We  need  a  history  of  fire- 
sides," said  Daniel  Webster.  It  would  be  specially  unfortunate 
if  the  writer  on  the  history  of  a  republic  like  ours  should  be 
so  taken  up  with  what  Sir  Walter  Scott  would  call  "  the  big 
bow-wow "  of  public  events  as  to  neglect  the  story  of  the 
evolution  of  a  great  people. 

As  its  title  indicates,  this  is  a  "household  edition."  The 
school  edition  of  the  book  has  already  appeared,  and  the 
instantaneous  favor  it  has  met  with,  not  only  as  a  text-book, 
but  also  as  a  book  for  general  use,  encouraged  the  preparation 
of  the  present  edition.  The  omission  of  a  hundred  pages  of 
questions  and  other  machinery  for  teaching  has  enabled  the 
writer  to  greatly  enlarge  the  text  by  incorporating  many 
interesting  facts  which  could  not  be  compressed  into  the 
limits  of  a  school  edition.  To  adapt  the  work  to  the  pur- 
poses of  the  general  reader,  the  text  has  been  rearranged  and 
in  many  parts  rewritten. 

Of  course,  I  am  aware  that  one  of  the  very  chief  attrac- 
tions of  the  book  is  due  to  the  liberality  with  which  the 
publishers  have  availed  themselves  of  so  many  of  the  resources 
of  the  modern  art  of  illustration  to  •  enhance  its  value.  The 
pictures  represent  the  work  of  many  of  the  best  designers  and 
engravers  of  our  time.  A  very  considerable  body  of  knowl- 
edge regarding  the  history  of  civilization  may  be  acquired  from 
the  illustrations  of  costume,  armor,  inventions,  implements,  sea 
and  river  craft,  vehicles,  and  of  manners  generally.  The 
drawings  have  been  mostly  made  under  the  personal  super- 


yj  PREFACE. 

vision  of  the  writer,  and  have  required  no  less  thought  and 
care  than  the  text  itself.  Many  of  these  designs  are  founded 
on  rare  prints,  and  others  are  from  ancient  original  drawings 
not  before  engraved,  while  a  few  have  been  made  from  written 
descriptions  of  contemporary  writers.  Mr.  John  A.  Eraser  has 
had  charge  of  the  book  on  its  artistic  side,  and  the  illustrations 
have  been  made  under  his  direction.  For  assistance  in  pro- 
curing illustrations  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  several 
friends,  and  especially  to  Justin  Winsor,  LL.  D.,  Librarian  of 
Harvard  University ;  Major  J.  W.  Powell,  of  the  U.  S.  Geo- 
logical Survey ;  and  Prof.  G.  Brown  Goode,  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution.  Special  acknowledgment  is  likewise  due  to  the 
Century  Company  for  favors  in  this  matter. 

The  main  purpose  in  making  so  great  a  number  of  small 
maps  has  been  to  preserve  the  utmost  simplicity.  A  crowded 
map  is  a  vexation  to  the  brain  and  eye.  In  most  cases  a 
map  for  historical  illustration  should  be  a  diagram  of  the  fact 
under  consideration,  showing  no  names  or  details  not  necessary 
to  the  comprehension  of  that  fact.  Not  only  is  the  reader 
saved  from  much  needless  toil  by  this  plan,  but  maps  thus 
arranged  serve  the  double  purpose  of  elucidating  the  narrative 
and  impressing  it  on  the-  memory  at  the  same  time  by  giving 
it  form  to  the  eye.  Each  little  map  becomes  a  local  diagram 
of  some  historical  fact,  and  the  form  of  the  map  will  remain 
in  the  memory  inseparably  associated  with  the  event  to  which 
it  belongs— a  geographical  body  to  an  historical  soul. 

This  smaller  history  by  its  earlier  issue  reaps  a  benefit 
from  many  laborious  years  of  investigation  for  a  larger  work 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


yet  far  from  ready  for  publication,  and  some  facts  of  consider- 
able importance  first  see  the  light  in  these  pages.  Statements 
in  this  narrative  which  seem  novel  and  different  from  those 
hitherto  accepted  are  based  upon  a  personal  study  of  original 
authorities,  and  in  many  cases  are  the  result  of  an  examination 
of  ancient  manuscripts  in  the  British  Public  Record  Office,  the 
British  Museum,  the  Library  of  Congress,  and  some  other 
collections,  public  and  private. 

It  is  impossible,  however,  to  write  a  book  covering  the 
whole  period  of  the  history  of  the  United  States  without  incur- 
ring obligations  to  a  great  multitude  of  other  writers  and 
investigators.  I  owe  much  to  the  several  writers  in  Mr. 
Winsor's  "  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,"  to  Mr. 
Parkman's  various  works  relating  to  the  conflicts  between  the 
English  and  French  colonies,  and  to  Mr.  Schouler's  "  History 
of  the  United  States  under  the  Constitution."  I  am  also 
indebted  to  Mr.  Bancroft,  to  Mr.  Lossing,  and  to  Mr.  Mc- 
Master.  Nor  ought  I  to  omit  Ripley's  "  Mexican  War  "  or 
Dodge's  "  Bird's-Eye  View  of  the  Civil  War."  For  the  rest 
I  must  crave  indulgence.  It  would  be  impossible  to  enu- 
merate here  or  even  to  recall  all  the  writers  on  special 
subjects  to  whom  I  have  referred. 

One  word  is  due  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  recent  events. 
Occurrences  of  our  own  time  do  not  properly  belong  to  his- 
tory, nor  can  a  dispassionate  and  historical  judgment  be  formed 
regarding  the  debates  and  conflicts  in  which  living  men  have 
borne  a  part.  I  have,  therefore,  treated  the  period  from  about 
1850  by  a  method  different  from  that  employed  in  giving  an 


vjji  PREFACE. 

account  of  earlier  times,  contenting  myself  with  a  narrative 
of  the  events,  and  not  venturing  on  premature  judgments. 
We  who  were  in  some  sense  victims  of  the  passions  of  the 
civil-war  period  are  not  the  best  judges  of  questions  between 
the  participants.  Moreover,  I  have  desired  that  this  little  book, 
which  will  be  read  largely  by  the  young,  may  contribute  to 
bring  about  that  oneness  of  sentiment  in  which  lies  the  only 
hope  for  national  union  and  prosperity.  The  true  work  of 
patriotism  in  this  time  is  conciliation  and  the  consolidation  of 
our  national  life. 

JOSHUA'S  ROCK,  LAKE  GEORGE, 
November,  1888. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I.  PAGE 

How  COLUMBUS  DISCOVERED  AMERICA i 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  The  ships  of  Columbus  ;  Head-piece ;  Prow  of  ancient  war-ship ; 
Sailor ;  Columbus  ;  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  ;  Stem  of  ancient  war-ship  ;  Map,  World 
as  known  when  Columbus  sailed. 

CHAPTER   II. 

OTHER  DISCOVERIES  IN  AMERICA 8 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Americus ;  Cabot  at  Mecca ;  Henry  VII ;  Indian  needles  for 
making  nets  ;  Indian  trap  ;  "  A  great  man  of  that  time  "  ;  Caught  in  an  Indian  trap  ; 
Map,  Voyages  of  Columbus,  Magellan,  and  Da  Gama;  Magellan;  Spanish  explorer. 

CHAPTER   III. 
SIR  WALTER  RALEGH  TRIES  TO  SETTLE  A  COLONY  IN  AMERICA        .    14 

ILLUSTRATIONS:  Sir  Walter  Ralegh;  Queen  Elizabeth;  Map,  Roanoke  Island;  Sir 
Francis  Drake  ;  Ralegh  on  fire  ;  Indian  pipes. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

How  JAMESTOWN  WAS  SETTLED 20 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  James  I ;  A  merchant  of  the  Virginia  Company  ;  Present  appear- 
ance of  Jamestown  ;  The  night-watch  ;  Captain  John  Smith  ;  Soldier  with  matchlock- 
gun  ;  Map,  Jamestown  and  Roanoke  Island. 

CHAPTER   V. 
THE  STARVING  TIME,  AND  WHAT  FOLLOWED 26 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Deliverance  of  Jamestown  ;  Lord  De  la  Warr ;  Pocahontas ;  Com- 
mon people  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

CHAPTER   VI. 
THE  GREAT  CHARTER  OF  VIRGINIA,  AND  THE  FIRST  MASSACRE  BY 

THE  INDIANS 32 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  English  countryman  ;  countrywoman  ;  "Jack  of  the  Feather"  ;  The 
warning. 

CHAPTER    VII. 
THE  COMING  OF  THE  PILGRIMS 37 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Ship ;  Puritan  man  ;  Puritan  woman ;  Pilgrim  farewell  at  Delft 
Haven  ;  Map,  Plymouth  and  Jamestown  ;  Map,  Vicinity  of  Plymouth  ;  "  Welcome, 
Englishmen  "  ;  Pilgrims  going  to  church. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VIII.  PAGE 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  PURITANS 42 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Oliver  Cromwell ;  Puritan  gentleman ;  Puritan  lady ;  John  Win- 
throp ;  John  Davenport ;  House  of  the  first  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  ;  Merchant's 
wife,  1620  ;  Map,  Early  New  England  settlements. 

CHAPTER   IX. 
THE  COMING  OF  THE  DUTCH 47 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  The  Half-Moon  in  Hudson  River ;  Dutch  country  people,  seven- 
teenth century  ;  Dutch  women,  seventeenth  century  ;  Map,  Early  Dutch  and  Swedish 
settlements ;  Peter  Stuyvesant ;  Street  in  New  Amsterdam  ;  New  York  in  the  Dutch 
period. 

CHAPTER    X 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  MARYLAND  AND  THE  CAROLINAS        ...        .52 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  First  Lord  Baltimore ;  Charles  I ;  Second  Lord  Baltimore ;  The 
landing  in  Maryland,  1634;  Map,  Virginia  and  first  Maryland  settlement;  Charles 
II ;  Huguenot  merchant  and  wife  ;  Map,  Early  Settlements  in  the  Carolinas. 

CHAPTER    XI. 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  QUAKERS  AND  OTHERS  TO  THE  JERSEYS  AND 

PENNSYLVANIA 58 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Scotch  woman ;  Scotch  man ;  William  Penn ;  Penn's  house  in 
Philadelphia  ;  Map,  Settlements  in  the  Jerseys  and  Pennsylvania  ;  Treaty-belt. 

CHAPTER    XII. 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  GEORGIA,  AND  THE  COMING  OF  THE  GERMANS, 

IRISH,  AND  FRENCH 63 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  General  Oglethorpe ;  Map,  Coast  of  Georgia  and  Carolina ;  a 
Georgia  road  ;  Highland  piper  ;  German  countryman  ;  German  countrywoman  ;  Irish 
man  ;  Irish  woman  ;  French  countryman  ;  French  countrywoman. 

CHAPTER    XIII. 
How  THE  INDIANS  LIVED 69 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Indian  mother  and  child ;  Medicine-man,  1585  ;  Indian  children 
playing  ;  Navajo  Indian  woman  weaving  a  belt ;  Wampum  ;  Indian  wigwams  of  bark ; 
Manner  of  boiling ;  Zuni  Indian  woman  making  pottery ;  Indian  bottle ;  Indian 
manner  of  broiling  in  1585  ;  Stone  axe  ;  Indian  kindling  fire  ;  Making  a  canoe  ;  Indian 
vase ;  Indian  girl  with  baskets  ;  Indian  girls  with  water-jars  ;  Pottery  from  Missouri. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
EARLY  INDIAN  WARS 78 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Shell  axe  ;  Florida  warrior,  1565  ;  Calumet ;  Indian  mask  ;  Iroquois 
Indian  mask  ;  Belt  of  wampum  ;  King  Philip  ;  North  Carolina  warrior,  1585. 


CONTENTS.  XJ 

CHAPTER   XV. 
TRAITS  OF  WAR  WITH  THE  INDIANS 86 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  War-club  ;  Matchlock  ;  Matchlock-gun  ;  Soldier  with  matchlock-gun  ; 
Pikeman  ;  Matchlock-gun  ;  Snow-shoes  ;  Block-house  ;  Tail-piece. 

CHAPTER   XVI. 
LIFE  IN  THE  COLONIAL  TIME 91 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Cabin  of  round  logs  ;  A  calash  ;  Birch  canoes  ;  Pack-horses ;  School 
scene  in  1740  ;  A  wedding  in  New  Amsterdam  ;  Dutch  woman  skating. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 
FARMING  AND  SHIPPING  IN  THE  COLONIES 99 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Colonial  plow  ;  Flag  of  the  New  York  merchant-ships ;  Ensign 
carried  by  New  England  ships  ;  Pirate  Blackbeard. 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

BOND-SERVANTS  AND  SLAVES  IN  THE  COLONIES     .  .       .  104 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  English  farm  laborer,  seventeenth  century ;  Kidnapping  a  man 
for  the  colonies  ;  Sir  John  Hawkins. 

CHAPTER   XIX. 
LAWS  AND  USAGES  IN  THE  COLONIES 108 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Drumming  for  meeting  ;  The  ducking-stool ;  The  stocks  ;  Punish- 
ment of  a  drunkard. 

CHAPTER   XX. 
THE  SPANIARDS  IN  FLORIDA,  AND  THE  FRENCH  IN  CANADA      .        .113 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Champlain  ;  Quebec  in  Champlain's  time  ;  La  Salle  ;  French  gentle- 
man, 1700  ;  Coureur  des  Bois  ;  Missionary  priest ;  Long-house  of  the  Iroquois  ;  Map, 
French  claim  in  Maine ;  Map,  Present  territory  of  the  United  States,  showing  by 
whom  it  was  claimed  be/ore  1763. 

CHAPTER   XXI. 
COLONIAL  WARS  WITH  FRANCE  AND  SPAIN 120 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Map,  The  home  of  the  Iroquois  ;  Queen  Anne  ;  Old  house  at  Deer- 
field  ;  Gateway  at  St.  Augustine  ;  Map,  Georgia  and  Florida  in  Oglethorpe''s  time. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT,  AND  THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  ACADIANS  .       .  128 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Map,  French  and  Indian  Wars ;  Washington  rallying  Braddock's 
troops  ;  Map,  Braddock's  march ;  Sir  William  Johnson  ;  Map,  Lake  George  and 
vicinity  ;  Lord  Loudon. 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

FALL  OF  CANADA 134 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  William  Pitt ;  Amherst ;  Map,  Acadia ;  Wolfe ;  Montcalm  ;  Wolfe 
scales  the  Heights  of  Abraham  ;  Map,  Vicinity  of  Quebec  ;  Old  view  of  Quebec. 


xjj  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXIV.  PAGE 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  COLONIAL  WARS  WITH  THE  FRENCH.        .  139 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  French  officer  ;  French  regular  ;  Canadian  soldier ;  Flint-lock  ;  In- 
dian moccasins ;  Flint-lock  gun ;  Lord  Howe ;  Lord  Howe  washing  his  linen  ; 
Rogers's  slide,  Lake  George  ;  White  captives  ;  Redoubt  at  Pittsburg,  built  1764. 

CHAPTER   XXV. 
How  THE  COLONIES  WERE  GOVERNED 148 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Colonial  court-house,  Philadelphia ;  A  hatter's  shop  in  old  times. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
EARLY  STRUGGLES  FOR  LIBERTY  IN  THE  COLONIES       .        .        .        .153 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  The  pillory  as  used  in  America  ;  Governor  Andros. 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 
THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 159 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  James  Otis  ;  Patrick  Henry  ;  Hanover  Court-House  ;  Samuel  Adams  ; 
"  The  Boston  Tea-party." 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

THE  OUTBREAK  OF  THE  REVOLUTION,  AND  DECLARATION  OF  INDE- 
PENDENCE    165 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Pine-tree  flag ;  General  Gage ;  Ethan  Allen ;  Ruins  of  Ticonder- 
oga  ;  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill ;  Map,  The  Revolution  about  Boston  ;  Rattlesnake  flag  ; 
Map,  The  Revolutionary  War  at  large  •  American  flag,  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  Monticello,  the  home  of  Jefferson. 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 
THE  BATTLE  OF  TRENTON,  AND  THE  CAPTURE  OF  BURGOYNE'S  ARMY  174 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  George  III ;  Destroying  the  statue  of  George  III  in  New  York  city  ; 
Admiral  Lord  Howe ;  Map,  The  Revolution  about  New  York  ;  The  retreat  from 
Long  Island ;  Hessian  trooper ;  Map,  Trenton  and  Princeton  ;  Hessian  trooper's 
boot ;  American  flag,  1777 ;  General  Burgoyne ;  Map,  Lake  Champlain  and  vicin- 
ity ;  Hessian  made  prisoner  by  militiaman  ;  General  Gates. 

CHAPTER    XXX. 
THE  DARK  PERIOD  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 180 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  General  Sir  William  Howe  ;  Map,  The  Revolution  about  Philadel- 
phia ;  Baron  Steuben  ;  De  Kalb  ;  La  Fayette  ;  Sir  Henry  Clinton  ;  Pulaski ;  General 
Lincoln  ;  General  Moultrie  ;  General  Sumter ;  General  Marion. 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 
THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 186 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Uniforms  of  French  soldiers  in  America ;  Map,  Revolutionary 
posts  on  the  Hudson  ;  Benedict  Arnold  ;  Major  Andre  ;  Map,  The  Revolution  at  the 


CONTENTS.  xjjj 

PAGE 

South ;  Colonel  Tarleton  ;  one  of  Morgan's  riflemen ;  General  Nathanael  Greene  ; 
Royal  flag  of  France  ;  Lord  Cornwallis  ;  Rochambeau  ;  American  artillery  drawn  by 
oxen  ;  Map,  Vicinity  of  Yorktovun  ;  House  in  which  the  surrender  at  Yorktown  was 
made. 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 

TRAITS  AND  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR       .       .       .190 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Esek  Hopkins  ;  American  seaman,  1776  ;  John  Paul  Jones  ;  Amer- 
ican marine,  1776;  A  Revolutionary  block-house;  Revolutionary  powder-horn  and 
canteen  ;  Soldier  of  the  Congress  ;  American  rifleman  ;  American  major-general ; 
English  grenadier  ;  Israel  Putnam  ;  "  Brown  Bess." 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 
ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION 194 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 
THE  NEW  REPUBLIC  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 200 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  George  Washington  ;  Diagram  of  comparative  population  ;  Map, 
The  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution  ;  Wagons  and  carriages  of  that 
time  ;  Singing  with  the  harpsichord  and  flute  ;  River  bateau  ;  Benjamin  Franklin  ; 
Birthplace  of  Franklin. 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 
HOME  AND  SOCIETY  IN  WASHINGTON'S  TIME 209 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Wool-wheel ;  Flax-wheel ;  Hat  of  Washington's  time ;  High  head- 
dress of  the  time. 

CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

WASHINGTON'S  PRESIDENCY,  FROM  1789  TO  1797 213 

ILLUSTRATIONS:  Martha  Washington  ;  Alexander  Hamilton;  Kentucky  captives; 
General  St.  Clair  ;  Anthony  Wayne  ;  Map,  Wayne's  campaign  ;  Mount  Vernon. 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

TROUBLES   WITH   ENGLAND    AND    FRANCE.  —  PRESIDENCY   OF   JOHN 

ADAMS 221 

ILLUSTRATIONS:  John  Jay;  John  Adams;  Cannoneer,  1797;  Seaman,  1798;  The 
White  House. 

CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

ELECTION  OF  JEFFERSON.— WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI 225 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Jefferson's  seal ;  Thomas  Jefferson  ;  American  seaman  in  Jeffer- 
son's time ;  American  soldiers  about  1800 ;  Map,  The  Barbary  states ;  Stephen 
Decatur. 

CHAPTER   XXXIX. 
THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  GREAT  VALLEY 231 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Daniel  Boone  ;  Map,  Northwest  Territory. 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XL.  PAGE 

THE  PURCHASE  OF  LOUISIANA,  AND  THE  TREASON  OF  AARON  BURR  238 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Maps,  The  United  States  before  the  purchase  of  Louisiana ;  The 
United  States  after  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  ;  Aaron  Burr. 

CHAPTER   XLI. 
BEGINNING  OF  THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND       ....  242 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  George  Clinton  ;  Tecumseh  ;  Map,  Tippecanoe  battle-ground ;  The 
Prophet ;  Map,  Detroit  and  the  Western  forts  ;  Madison's  home  at  Montpelier. 

CHAPTER    XLII. 
THE  NAVY  IN  THE  WAR  OF  1812 248 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  James  Madison  ;  Constitution  and  Guerriere  ;  British  flag  ;  Mrs. 
Madison  ;  The  Constitution  ;  Seaman,  1815  ;  Lawrence. 

CHAPTER   XLIII. 
THE  ARMY  IN  THE  WAR  OF  1812 255 

ILLUSTRATIONS:  Map,  Detroit  and  vicinity;  Infantryman,  1812-1834  ;  Perry;  Map, 
Battle  of  Lake  Erie  ;  French  Canadian  ;  French  Canadian  woman  ;  Map,  Lundy's 
Lane  and  vicinity  ;  Map,  Battle  of  Lake  Champlain  •  Macdonough  ;  Map,  British 
capture  of  Washington;  The  Star-Spangled  Banner,  1795-1818;  Map,  jfacJtson's 
defense  of  New  Orleans  ;  Major-general,  1812. 

CHAPTER   XLIV. 
EXPANSION  OF  THE  UNION        . 263 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Gentleman's  riding-dress  ;  Head-dress,  1806  ;  Turban  head-dress  ; 
Opera  head-dress  ;  Evening  dress  in  Jefferson's  time  ;  Map,  New  States  admitted  up 
to  1821  ;  Child's  dress  ;  Walking  costume,  1807. 

CHAPTER   XLV. 

FROM  MONROE  TO  VAN  BUREN. — RISE  OF  THE  WHIGS  AND  DEMO- 
CRATS   269 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  James  Monroe  ;  Spanish  standard  ;  Monroe's  home  at  Montpelier, 
Va.  ;  John  Quincy  Adams  ;  Adams  houses  at  Braintree,  Mass.  ;  Andrew  Jackson  ; 
Dress  of  a  lady  in  Jackson's  time  ;  "  The  Hermitage  "  of  Jackson  ;  John  C.  Calhoun  ; 
Home  of  Calhoun ;  Henry  Clay ;  Birthplace  of  Clay ;  Daniel  Webster  ;  Webster's 
home. 

CHAPTER   XLVI. 
THE  STEAMBOAT,  THE  RAILROAD,  AND  THE  TELEGRAPH     .        .        .  277 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Robert  Fulton  ;  Baltimore  clipper  ;  Fulton's  first  steamboat ;  The 
first  railroad  passenger-car  in  England  ;  First  steam  passenger-train  in  America ; 
S.  F.  B.  Morse  ;  Little  girl's  dress  ;  A  bonnet  of  1830. 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


CHAPTER   XLVII.  PAGE 

ANNEXATION  OF  TEXAS.— BEGINNING  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR    .       .  282 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  William  H.  Harrison  ;  John  Tyler ;  James  Knox  Polk ;  Sam 
Houston  ;  Diagram,  Comparative  size  of  Texas  and  France  ;  Map,  Texan  annexa- 
tion and  disputed  territory,  1845  ;  Mexican  flag ;  Map,  Taylor's  campaign. 

CHAPTER   XLVIII. 
THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  AND  THE  ANNEXATION  OF  NEW 

TERRITORY 288 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Santa  Anna ;  Map,  Relation  of  Scott's  to  Taylor's  campaign  ; 
Map,  Scott's  campaign  ;  Winfield  Scott ;  Map,  showing  territory  acquired  from 
Mexico ;  Map,  The  Oregon  country. 

CHAPTER   XLIX. 
THE  QUESTION  OF  SLAVERY  IN  POLITICS 295 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Zachary  Taylor ;  Millard  Fillmore  ;  Franklin  Pierce. 

CHAPTER    L. 
BREAK-UP  OF  OLD  PARTIES. — APPROACH  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR     .       .  301 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Stephen  A.  Douglas  ;  James  Buchanan. 

CHAPTER    LI. 
How  THE  GREAT  CIVIL  WAR  BEGAN 306 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Map,  Charleston  and  vicinity ;  Jefferson  Davis ;  Confederate  flag 
of  1861  ;  Map,  Seceding  States. 

CHAPTER   LII. 

CONFEDERATE  VICTORY  AT  BULL  RUN.— THE  FIRST  WESTERN  CAM- 
PAIGN  3ri 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Map,  Campaigns  in  Kentucky  and  West  Virginia ;  Map,  First 
battle  of  Bull  Run  ;  Irvin  McDowell ;  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard ;  Charging  an  earth- 
work ;  Map,  Battles  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas ;  Andrew  H.  Foote ;  John  Pope ; 
Map,  From  Fort  Donelson  to  Corinth  •  A.  S.  Johnston ;  D.  C.  Buell. 

CHAPTER    LIII. 
THE  WAR  IN  THE  EAST.— FROM  BULL  RUN  TO  GETTYSBURG     .       .  318 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  George  B.  McClellan  ;  Stonewall  Jackson  ;  Map,  Peninsular  cam- 
paign ;  Map,  The  campaigns  about  Washington  ;  A.  E.  Burnside  ;  George  G.  Meade ; 
Map,  The  campaign  in  Pennsylvania. 

CHAPTER    LIV. 
VARIOUS  OPERATIONS  IN  1862  AND  1863 323 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Map,  Hampton  Roads;  John  Ericsson  ;  The  Monitor  and  the  Mer- 
rimac ;  Farragut ;  Map,  Capture  of  New  Orleans ;  Braxton  Bragg ;  Map,  The  cam- 
paign against  Vicksburg. 


xvj  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    LV. 
THE  CAMPAIGN  BETWEEN  NASHVILLE  AND  ATLANTA    .        .        .        .329 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Holding  the  line ;  W.  S.  Rosecrans ;  Map,  Battles  about  Chatta- 
nooga ;  George  H.  Thomas ;  J.  E.  Johnston  ;  J.  B.  Hood ;  Map,  From  Nashville 
to  Atlanta. 

CHAPTER    LVI. 

FROM  THE  WILDERNESS  TO  PETERSBURG.— THE  WAR  IN  THE  VAL- 
LEY      334 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Ulysses  S.  Grant ;  Robert  E.  Lee ;  Map,  Wilderness  campaign ; 
Map,  The  Valley  campaign  ;  Jubal  Early  ;  Philip  H.  Sheridan  ;  Cold  comfort. 

CHAPTER    LVII. 
CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR 342 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  General  Schofield  ;  William  Tecumseh  Sherman  ;  Map,  Sherman's 
march  ;  Map,  Lee's  retreat. 

CHAPTER    LVIII. 

TRAITS  AND  RESULTS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR.— DEATH  OF  LINCOLN       .  346 
ILLUSTRATION  :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

CHAPTER    LIX. 
POLITICAL  EVENTS  SINCE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 352 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Andrew  Johnson  ;  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  ;  James  A.  Garfield  ;  Ches- 
ter A.  Arthur  ;  Grover  Cleveland  ;  Benjamin  Harrison. 

CHAPTER    LX. 
LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY 359 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Map,  Alaska  ;  Custer  ;  Indian  watching  for  buffaloes  ;  Battle  of 
Washita. 

CHAPTER    LXI. 
POPULATION,  WEALTH,  AND  MODES  OF  LIVING 364 

ILLUSTRATIONS:  Present  flag;  Map,  Centers  of  population  since  1790;  The  Penn- 
sylvania fireplace ;  Old  fireplace. 

CHAPTER    LXII. 
LITERATURE  AND  ART  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 368 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  Rittenhouse  ;  Washington  Irving ;  William  Cullen  Bryant ;  Henry 
W.  Longfellow  ;  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  ;  Edgar  A.  Poe  ;  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  ; 
James  Fenimore  Cooper ;  Nathaniel  Hawthorne  ;  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe ;  William 
H.  Prescott ;  John  L.  Motley  ;  John  J.  Audubon  ;  Benjamin  West ;  John  S.  Copley  ; 
Gilbert  Stuart. 


CHAPTER    I. 


HOW   COLUMBUS   DISCOVERED   AMERICA. 

IT  is  now  about  four  hundred  years  since  Columbus  Trade  with  India 
discovered  America.  People  in  Europe,  up  to  that  time,  coiumbus. 
had  known  nothing  of  any  lands  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  Travelers  were  very  liable  to  be  robbed 
as  soon  as  they  reached  a  foreign  land,  and  the  ships  of 
the  time  made  but  short  voyages,  and  were  often  plun- 
dered by  ships  of  other  nations.  The  people  of  Europe, 
therefore,  did  not  know  much  of  Asia,  except  that  it  was 
the  land  of  spices,  which  spices,  grown  in  India,  were 
sold  from  one  country  to  another  until  the  Turks  sold 
them  to  European  merchants.  But,  about  two  hundred 
years  before  Columbus  was  born,  a  Venetian,  by  the 
name  of  Marco  Polo,  had  succeeded  in  visiting  China, 
and  had  written  a  book  giving  many  wonderful  accounts 
of  the  splendor  of  the  Chinese  cities  and  of  the  riches 
of  the  Eastern  countries  generally,  as  well  as  many 
curious  stories  about  the  J<  people  who  lived  in  those 
far-away  lands. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Portuguese 
exploration! 


Early  life  of 
Columbus. 


When  Columbus  was  a  boy,  there  was  a  prince  of 
Portugal,  Don  Henrique  by  name,  who  is  known  to  us 
as  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator.  He  first  turned  men's 
minds  in  the  direction  of  discovery.  Though  the  maps 
of  his  time  made  Africa  extend  to  the  south  pole, 
Prince  Henry  believed,  from  what  he  found  in  ancient 
books,  that  there  was  a  way  to  get  around  Africa  to 
India  and  China,  and  thus  to  bring  the  spices  and 
other  commodities  of  those  lands  to  Europe  by  sea. 
But  the  seamen  of  that  day  were  accustomed  to  sail 
mostly  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  they  were  timid  in 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  Portuguese  sent  out  expe- 
dition after  expedition  for  seventy  years  before  they 
succeeded  in  discovering  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 
they  had  not  yet  got  around  that  cape  when  Columbus 
offered  to  find  a  new  and  shorter  way  to  India. 

Christopher  Columbus,  the  most  renowned  of  all 
discoverers,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Genoa,  in  Italy. 
The  exact  date  of  his  birth  is  uncertain.  His  father 
was  a  wool-comber  by  trade,  but,  though  the  family  was 
humble,  Columbus  received  considerable  education,  and 
he  was  all  his  life  studious  to  acquire  knowledge  about 
navigation  and  about  geography  as  far  as  it  was  then 
understood.  He  knew  Latin,  wrote  a  good  hand,  and 
drew  maps  exceedingly  well.  He  sometimes  supported 
himself  by  making  maps  and  charts.  At  fourteen  he 
went  to  sea,  and  before  his  great  voyage  he  had  sailed 
to  almost  all  the  countries  of  the  known  world.  He  had 
gone  some  distance  down  the  newly  discovered  coast  of 
Africa  with  the  Portuguese,  and  to  the  north  beyond  Ice- 
land. Columbus  married  the  daughter  of  a  Portuguese 
navigator,  and  thus  came  into  possession  of  his  charts. 


HOW   COLUMBUS  DISCOVERED   AMERICA. 


poses  a  new 

way  to  India. 


As  learned  men  already  be- 
lieved the  world  to  be  round,  Co- 
lumbus asked  :  Why  try  to  get  to 
India  and  China  by  going-  around 
Africa?  Why  not  sail  straight  to 
the  west  around  the  world  to 
Asia  ?  He  did  not  know  that 
America  was  in  the  way,  and  he 
thought  that  the  world  was  small- 
er than  it  is,  and  therefore  he 
believed  that  he  could  reach  the 
rich  lands  of  gold  and  spices  in 
Asia  by  sailing  only  two  or  three 
thousand  miles  to  the  westward.  So  that  Columbus  Columbus 

,  .  -,       »  , 

discovered  America  in  consequence  of  two  mistakes. 

He  first  offered  to  make  this  discovery  for  the  city 
of  Genoa,  in  which  he  was  born.  Then  he  offered  his 
plan  to  the  King  of  Portugal.  But  a  voyage  on  the  False  notion 
great  Atlantic  Ocean  seemed  a  dreadful  thing  in  those 
days.  It  was  called  the  "  Sea  of  Darkness,"  because  no 
one  knew  anything  about  It,  and  people  imagined  that 
it  was  inhabited  by  hideous  monsters. 

The  King  of  Portugal  was  an  enlightened  man,  and   A  shiP  sent 

out  secretly. 

the  ideas  of  Columbus  made  an  impression  on  him  after 
a  while.  But  he  did  not  like  to  grant  the  great  rewards 
demanded  by  the  navigator  if  he  should  find  land  ;  so 
he  secretly  sent  out  a  ship  under  another  commander  to 
sail  to  the  westward  and  see  if  there  was  any  land  there. 
The  sailors  on  this  ship  were  easily  discouraged,  and 
they  returned  laughing  at  Columbus  and  his  notions. 

But  Columbus  was  not  a  man  to  be  discouraged.     No  coiumbus 
rebuff  from  the  great,  no  amount  of  ridicule,  no  bitter- 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


HAND    AND    ISABELLA. 


ness  of  poverty,  could  ever  make  him  give  up  his  great 
thought  of  discovering  the  western  boundary  of  the  At- 
lantic. Finding  that  he  had  been  trifled  with,  he  proudly 
refused  to  reopen  negotiations  with  King 
John  of  Portugal.  Poor  and  in  debt,  he 
secretly  left  that  country  and  traveled  into 
Spain  afoot,  leading  his  little  son  by  the 
hand.  He  had  determined  to  offer  his 
idea  to  the  King  and  Queen  of  Spain,  the 
celebrated  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  The 
Spanish  monarchs  were  very  busy  in  their  war  against 
the  Moors,  and  Columbus  spent  six  or  seven  years  in 
trying  to  persuade  them  to  furnish  him  ships  and  sail- 
ors for  his  voyage.  The  matter  was  at  one  time  re- 
ferred to  a  meeting  of  learned  men,  some  of  whom  tried 
to  prove  from  the  Scriptures  and  other  writings  that  the 
world  was  flat  and  not  round.  Others  said  that,  if  the 
world  was  round  and  a  ship  sailed  down  one  side,  it  could 
never  get  back  up  again.  During  his  long  waiting  on  the 
king  and  queen,  Columbus  followed  the  Spanish  court  in 
its  movements  in  the  war  with  the  Moors,  and  he  even 
took  a  brave  part  in  some  of  the  battles  of  the  time.  He 
was  laughed  at  for  a  visionary,  and  the  children  in  the 
streets  tapped  their  foreheads  with  their  fingers  when 
he  passed  by,  to  intimate  their  belief  that  he  was  crazy. 
At  length,  when  the  war  was  over,  his  affair  was  consid- 
ered and  his  offer  rejected.  For  eighteen  years  he  had 
sought  in  vain  an  outfit  for  his  voyage.  But,  not  yet 
out  of  heart,  he  resolved  to  quit  Spain,  and  he  set 
•-»  out  to  begin  his  solicitations  anew  at  the  court  of 
the  King  of  France.  Some  of  his  friends  now  made 
a  strong  appeal  to  the  Spanish  queen,  which  so 


HO IV  COLUMBUS  DISCOVERED   AMERICA.  r 

impressed  Isabella  that  she  offered  to  sell  her  jewels,  if 
necessary,  to  procure  money  to  send  Columbus  on  his 
expedition.  A  messenger  on  horseback  recalled  him, 
and  by  this  prompt  action  Spain  secured  the  glory  of 
finding  the  New  World. 

Columbus  sailed  from   Spain  on   the  3d  of   August,  His  departure 

his  great  voyag 

1492,  with  three  small  vessels,  two  of  which  were  with-  and  his  discove 
out  decks,  and  he  was  more  than  two  months  on  the 
voyage.     The   sailors  were   more  and  more   frightened 
as    they    found    themselves    going    farther    and    farther 
out    of     the    known 
world.     They  some- 
times  threatened    to 
pitch  Columbus  over- 
board    and     return. 
He  kept  their  cour- 
age    up     by     every 
means  he  could  think 
of,  even   by  conceal- 
ing from  them  how 

far  they  had  come.  The  flight  of  land-birds,  the  dis- 
covery of  a  twig,  with  berries  on  it,  floating  in  the 
water,  and  at  length  the  picking  up  of  a  carved  stick, 
served  to  encourage  the  mariners,  whose  eyes  were 
strained  day  after  day  to  catch  sight  of  anything  but 
the  wild  waste  of  unknown  waters  through  which  they 
had  been  sailing  for  so  many  weeks.  At  last,  one  night, 
Columbus  saw  a  glimmer  of  light,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing one  of  the  other  ships  fired  a  gun,  to  signify  that 
land  was  seen.  This  was  the  I2th  of  October,  1492. 
There  was  the  wildest  joy  among  the  seamen.  They 
had  lately  hated  their  commander,  and  wished  to  kill 


THE    PART   OF   THE    WORLD    KNOWN 


5  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

him  ;  they  now  crowded  about  him  to  embrace  him  or 
to  kiss  his  hands. 

what  he  had  Instead  of  finding  the  rich  cities  of  Asia,  Columbus 

had  come  upon  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  West  India 
islands,  which  was  inhabited  by  people  entirely  naked, 
and  living  in  the  rudest  manner.  He  afterward  dis- 
covered larger  islands,  and  then  sailed  homeward. 

Return  of  He  took  with  him  to  Spain  some  of  the  wild  inhab- 

Columbus. 

itants,  who  were  exhibited  at  the  court  in  all  their 
showy  decorations  of  paint  and  feathers,  and  he  also 
made  a  display  of  the  golden  ornaments  he  had  pro- 
cured. Ferdinand  and  Isabella  received  him  with  the 
pomp  due  to  a  great  conqueror,  and  he,  who  had  been 
but  a  beggar  before,  was  welcomed  by  the  monarchs 
under  a  rich  canopy  of  brocade  of  gold.  The  king  and 
queen  rose  to  welcome  him,  and  made  him  sit  down  in 
their  presence,  a  favor  never  shown  except  to  the  great- 
est grandees.  The  people,  who  had  believed  him  a  fool 
when  he  went  away,  followed  him  with  cheers  as  he 
walked  along  the  street. 

Columbus,  in  his  second  voyage  to  America,  planted 
a  colony  on  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  or  Hayti.  In  this 
and  in  two  other  voyages  he  discovered  other  islands 
and  a  portion  of  the  coast  of  South  America,  which  he 
first  saw  in  1498.  He  made  four  voyages  to  America 
in  all,  setting  out  on  the  first  in  1492,  the  second  in 
1493,  the  third  in  1498,  and  the  fourth  in  1502.  Though 
a  great  navigator,  he  was  not  a  wise  governor  of  the 
colonies  he  planted,  and  he  had  many  enemies.  In 
1500  he  was  cruelly  sent  home  to  Spain  in  chains.  But 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  as  well  as  the  people,  were 
shocked  at  this  degradation,  and  he  was  at  once  set 


HOW  COLUMBUS  DISCOVERED  AMERICA.  >j 

free.  His  last  voyage  was  unfortunate,  and  when  he 
returned  to  Spain,  in  November,  1504,  the  monarchs 
paid  little  attention  to  him.  Queen  Isabella  died  soon 
after  his  return,  while  Columbus  lay  sick,  and  when  the 
great  navigator  came  to  court  the  king  was  deaf  to  his 
petitions.  Worn  out  with  fatigue,  exposure,  and  anxiety, 
the  great  admiral  died  on  the  2oth  of  May,  1506.  He 
never  knew  that  he  had  found  a  new  world,  but  lived 
and  died  in  the  belief  that  the  large  island  of  Cuba 
was  a  part  of  the  mainland  of  Asia. 

The  investigations  of  scholars  give  us  some  reason  to  Discoveries  be- 
fore Columbus. 

believe  that  America  may  have  been  visited  from  Europe 
before  the  time  of  Columbus.  The  inhabitants  of  Scan- 
dinavia (the  country  now  divided  into  Denmark,  Sweden, 
and  Norway)  were  known  as  Norsemen.  In  the  old 
romantic  tales  of  Scandinavia  there  are  stories  which  go 
to  show  that  these  Norsemen,  under  the  command  of 
Leif,  the  son  of  Eric,  in  the  year  1001,  and  afterward, 
probably  explored  the  coast  of  America  from  Labrador 
southward  for  some  distance.  Fanciful  theories  have 
been  built  on  these  stories,  such  as  the  notion  that  the  old 
stone  windmill  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  is  a  tower 
built  by  the  Norsemen.  There  is  also  a  tradition  in 
Wales  that  one  Madoc,  a  Welsh  prince,  in  the  year 
1170,  discovered  land  to  the  west  of  Ireland,  and  took 
a  colony  thither,  which  was  never  heard  of  afterward. 
If  these  stories  of  Leif  and  Madoc  represent  real  voy- 
ages, the  discoveries  which  they  relate  would  probably 
never  have  been  recalled  to  memory  if  Columbus  had 
not  opened  a  wide  door  at  the  right  moment. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


CHAPTER    II. 

OTHER  DISCOVERIES   IN  AMERICA. 

A  PART  of  the  glory  of  Columbus's  great  discov- 
ery was  taken  away  from  him  by  accident.  Instead 
of  bearing  the  name  of  the  great  navigator  whose 
persevering  devotion  to  an  idea  led  him  to  dis- 
cover it,  the  western  hemisphere  is  named  after 
Amerigo  Vespucci,  better  known  to  us  as  Ameri- 
cus  Vespucius,  the  Latin  form  of  his  name.  Vespu- 
cius  was  born  in  Florence,  but  he  removed  to  Spain  a 
Naming  of  little  before  Columbus  sailed  on  his  first  voyage.  He  was 
with  an  expedition  that  discovered  a  part  of  South  Amer- 
ica in  1499.  A  false  claim  was  made  that  Vespucius  saw 
that  continent  two  years  earlier.  But  it  is  now  believed 
that  this  first  date  is  incorrect ;  there  are  documents  which 
go  to  show  that  Vespucius  was  in  Spain  during  all  that 
year,  so  that  the  earliest  discovery  of  the  South  American 
Continent  was  by  Columbus  in  1498. 

Americus  undoubtedly  went  to  America  several 
times,  both  from  Spain  and  Portugal.  In  1503  he  built  a 
fort  on  the  coast  of  Brazil  ;  and  he  left  there  a  little  col- 
ony, the  first  in  that  part  of  South  America.  Ferdinand  of 
Spain  made  him  pilot-major  of  his  kingdom  in  1 508,  and 
he  died  in  1512.  Americus  wrote  pleasantly  about  the 
new  lands  which  he  had  seen,  and  some  German  geogra- 
phers were  so  pleased  with  his  descriptions  that  they 
called  the  country  America,  in  honor  of  Americus,  sup- 
posing him  to  have  first  seen  the  continent.  When  North 
America  came  to  be  placed  on  the  maps,  this  name  was 


Voyages  of 
Americus 


OTHER  DISCOVERIES  IN  AMERICA. 


applied 
to       it 
also.      Thus, 
nearly       half 
the         world 
goes    by    the 
name     of      a 
man  who  had 
no  claim  to 
be  called  its 
discoverer. 

The  voyage  of  Columbus  was  undertaken,  as  we  have  John  cabot. 
seen,  to  open  a  trade  with  the  Spice  Islands  of  Asia,  and 
the  failure  to  find  these  was  disappointing.  There  was 
another  great  Italian  navigator  living  at  the  same  time  as 
Columbus,  whose  name  was  Zuan  Caboto,  who  is  called 
in  English  John  Cabot.  He,  also,  was  probably  born  in 
Genoa,  but  he  was  naturalized  in  Venice.  He  was  living 
in  Bristol,  in  England,  in  1495,  and  had,  no  doubt,  heard 
of  the  great  discovery  of  Columbus  when  he  laid  before 
King  Henry  VII  of  England  his  own  plans  for  a  voyage 
to  the  west.  Columbus  had  been  a  traveler  by  sea,  and 
had  gone  far  to  the  southward  and  northward.  Cabot 
had  also  been  a  traveler,  but  he  had  penetrated  to  the 
eastward  overland,  and  had  reached  the  city  of  Mecca, 


IO 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


in  Arabia,  and  had  there  seen  the  caravans  bringing 
spices  from  India.  He  inquired  of  the  people  of 
these  caravans  where  they  got  their  spices.  They 
said  that  other  caravans  brought  them  to  their 
country,  and  that  the  people  in  those  caravans  re- 
ported that  they  bought  them  from  people  who  lived 
yet  farther  away.  From  all  this  John  Cabot  con- 
cluded that  the  spices  so  much  valued  in  Europe  must 
grow  in  the  most  easterly  part  of  Asia,  and  that  he 
could  reach  this  part  of  Asia  by  sailing  to  the  west,  as 
Columbus  had  done. 

While  Columbus  was  trying  to  persuade  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  to  send  him  on  a  voyage  of  discovery,  he 
had  sent  his  brother,  Bartholomew  Columbus,  to  make  a 
like  offer  to  the  English  king.  When  Bartholomew  re- 
turned to  Spain  with  King  Henry  VII's  answer,  Christo- 
pher Columbus  had  already  discovered  the  New  World. 
But,  though  Columbus  had  found  what  he  believed  to 
be  a  part  of  Asia,  he  had  not  found  the  region  of  gold 
and  spices.  Cabot  believed  that  he  might  be  more  for- 
tunate. He  got  permission  from  Henry  VII  to  sail  at 
the  expense  of  certain  English  merchants,  and  in  May, 
1497,  nearly  five  years  after  Columbus  had  started  on 
his  first  voyage,  Cabot  set  sail  from  Bristol  with  only 
one  small  vessel  and  eighteen  persons.  He  discovered 
the  Continent  of  North  America,  which  he  of  course 
supposed  to  be  a  part  of  Asia.  He  did  not  meet  any 
Indians,  but  he  brought  to  King  Henry  one  of  their 
traps  for  catching  game,  and 
a  needle  for  making  nets.  He 


INDIAN    NEFDLES    FOR    MAKING    NETS. 


OTHER    DISCOVERIES   IN   AMERICA. 


I  I 


was  received  with  great  honor, 
and  he  who  had  gone  away  a 
poor  Venetian  pilot  was  now 
called  "  the  Great  Admiral," 
and  dressed  himself  in  silks, 
after  the  manner  of  great  men 
of  that  time. 

The  next  year,  accompanied  by  his  son  Sebastian, 
he  set  sail  with  a  much  larger  expedition,  to  find  his 
way  to  Japan  or  China.      After  going   far  to  the 
north,  he  sailed  along  what  is  now  the  coast  of 
Canada  and  the  United  States  as  far  to  the  south 
as  North  Carolina.      But,  as  he  did  not  find  the 
riches  of  Asia,  the    English  appear  to  have  lost 
much    of     their    interest     in    Western    voyages. 
There  is  no  account  of   John  Cabot's  second  re- 
turn, nor  do  we  know  anything   about   him  after 
his  sailing  to  America  the  second  time.     His  son 
Sebastian,  who  was  a  great  geographer,  and  who 
lived  to  be  very  old,  seems  to   have  always  spoken  of  second  voyage 
the  voyages  as   though    he  had    made  them  alone,  but 
we  now  know  that  it  was  John  Cabot  who  discovered 
North  America. 

Five  years  after  Columbus  sailed  to  America,  a  Port-  D»  Qama 

doubles  the  Cape 

uguese  expedition,  under  Vasco  da  Gama,  succeeded  in  Of  Good  Hope. 

sailing  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  reaching 

Calcutta  in  India.     This  was  the  accomplishment 

of   the  dream  of    Prince  Henry  the  Navigator, 

who   had   at  this  time  been  dead  thirty-four 

years.     It  was  still  believed  that  America 

was  a  part  of  Asia,  and  that  Columbus's 

discovery  had  opened  another  road  to  the 


12 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Indies.  It  was 
not  till  after  the 
death  of  Colum- 
bus that  people 
began  to  suspect 
that  the  newly 
discovered  lands 


THIS    MAP   SHOWS    HOW    COLUMBUS    FOUND   AMERICA    I 
IT    ALSO    SHOWS    THE    VOYAGES   OF    DA   GAM 


IG   TO   GET   TO    ASIA. 

MAGELLAN. 


Balboa  discovers 
the  Pacific. 


Magellan's  ex; 
dition  around 
the  world. 


were   not   parts 
of  Asia. 

The  Pacific  Ocean  was  discovered  at  the  west  of 
America,  in  1513,  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  while  this 
explorer  was  leading  a  Spanish  expedition  in  Central 
America.  An  Indian  chief's  son,  seeing  the  Spaniards 
quarreling  over  the  gold  they  had  got,  and  perhaps 
wishing  to  rid  his  own  country  of  them,  told  them  that, 
since  they  were  so  fond  of  gold,  he  could  show  them  an 
ocean,  on  the  shores  of  which  was  the  great  kingdom  of 
Peru,  rich  in  that  metal.  Balboa  crossed  the  isthmus, 
and,  wading  full-armed  into  the  waters  of  "  The  South 
Sea,"  as  he  called  the  Pacific,  took  possession  of  the 
ocean  and  all  the  countries  on  its  coasts  for  the  King 
and  Queen  of  Spain. 

It  now  became  a  question  of  finding  a  way  through 
or  around  America,  so  as  to  come  to  the  rich  trade 
with  India,  which  the  Portuguese  had  reached  by  the 
way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  Spaniards  ac- 
complished this  by  an  expedition  under  an  explorer 
named  Magellan.  Fernando  Magellan  was  a  native 
of  Portugal.  He  served  the  Portuguese  government 
in  the  East  Indies,  and  was  in  the  expedition  that 
discovered  some  of  the  Spice  Islands.  Having  received 
a  slight  from  the  Portuguese  government,  he  renounced 


OTHER   DISCOVERIES  IN  AMERICA.  j^ 

his  country  and  entered  the  service  of  the  King  of 
Spain.  He  sailed  on  his  famous  voyage  in  September, 
1519,  with  five  ships.  It  was  not  known  then  that  one 
could  pass  around  Cape  Horn,  but  South  America  was 
thought  to  reach  to  the  south  pole,  and  Magellan  was 
therefore  intent  on  finding  some  way  of  getting  through 
that  continent.  On  the  coast  of  South  America  he  lost 
one  of  his  vessels,  and  suppressed  a  mutiny.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1520,  he  entered  the  straits  that  bear  his  name.  His 
men  were  very  reluctant  to  go  on,  and  one  ship  turned 
back  out  of  the  channel  and  sailed  home.  With  the 
three  ships  left  he  entered  the  Pacific.  At  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  he  was  killed  in  a  battle  with  the  natives, 
and  many  of  his  men  were  massacred.  Only  one  of  his 
ships,  the  Victoria,  succeeded  in  getting  around  the 
world,  and  she  had  but  eighteen  men  left  alive  when 
she  got  back,  and  they  were  sick  and  almost  starving.  8PANI8H  EXPLORER. 
This  was  the  first  voyage  around  the  globe. 

But  Magellan's  route  was  too  long  a  course  for  trade,  other  explorers 

seek  the  North- 

and  many  other  navigators  sailed  up  and  down  the  west  Passage. 
American  coast,  expecting  to  find  some  passage  by  which 
they  could  get  through  the  continent  to  go  to  China, 
India,  and  Japan.  They  did  not  understand  that  Amer- 
ica was  a  continent ;  they  believed  that  it  might  prove 
to  be  cut  through  in  some  places  by  straits,  like  Ma- 
gellan's, if  they  could  only  find  them.  Several  great 
English  navigators  tried  to  discover  what  they  called 
the  Northwest  Passage,  by  sailing  along  the  coast  of 
Labrador  and  into  the  rivers  and  bays  of  America, 
while  the  French  thought  to  get  through  to  China  by 
passing  up  the  river  St.  Lawrence  and  through  the 
great  lakes  at  its  head. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


For  a  long  time  after  Cabot's  discovery,  nobody  in 
England  thought  it  worth  while  to  send  colonies  to 
North  America,  which  was  regarded  only  as  a  bar  to  all 
attempts  to  reach  Asia  by  the  west.  But,  the  colonists 
sent  from  Spain  having  found  gold  in  great  quantities  in 
Mexico  and  South  America,  the  English  at  length  began 
to  think  of  settling  colonies  in  North  America,  to  look 
for  gold  there  also.  In  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth, 
Sir  Martin  Frobisher  and  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  who 
were  both  great  seekers  after  a  northwest  passage  to 
India,  united  this  with  a  search  after  gold,  and  they  even 
made  some  feeble  attempts  to  plant  colonies  on  the  North 
American  coast.  But  it  was  not  until  that  very  great 
man,  Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  undertook 
the  work,  that  any  wise  or  hopeful 
beginning  was  made  in  colonization 
by  the  English. 


CHAPTER   III. 

SIR  WALTER  RALEGH  TRIES  TO  SETTLE 
A   COLONY   IN   AMERICA. 


IF  it  had  not  been  for  the  inter- 
est which  Sir  Walter  Ralegh  took 
in  plans  for  settling  America,  we  might  never  have 
had  a  nation  of  English-speaking  people  in  this  coun- 
try. Ralegh  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  one  of 
the  most  ambitious  men  at  the  court  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, as  he  certainly  was  one  of  the  most  gifted  men 


SIR    WALTER   RALEGH'S   COLONY.  jr 

of  that  brilliant  time.  While  yet  young,  he  fought  for 
years  on  the  side  of  the  Huguenots  in  the  French  civil 
wars,  and  afterward  took  part  in  the  war  in  Ireland. 
On  his  return  from  Ireland,  he  is  said  to  have  won 
the  queen's  favor  by  throwing  his  new  plush  cloak 
into  a  muddy  place  in  the  road  for  her  to  walk  on.  It 
is  certain  that  by  some  means  he  rose  rapidly  at  court. 
Having  received  from  Queen  Elizabeth  a  charter  which 
gave  him  a  large  territory  in  America,  he  sent  out  an 
exploring  expedition  in  1584,  ninety-two  years  after  the 
discovery  by  Columbus.  Eighty-seven  years  had  passed 
since  John  Cabot,  in  an  English  ship,  first  discovered  the 
coast  of  North  America,  which  had  lain  all  this  time 
unexplored,  a  mystery  and  a  puzzle  to  the  Old  World. 

Ralegh's  expedition  was  commanded  by  two  cap-  Raiegh  sends  out 
tains  named  Amidas  and  Barlowe.  They  landed  on 
that  part  of  the  coast  which  we  now  call  North  Caro- 
lina. The  country  pleased  them  very  much.  They 
were  especially  wonder-struck  at  the  surpassing  abun- 
dance of  wild  grapes  for  which  the  North  Carolina 
coast  has  always  been  famous,  and  they  tell  of  great 
vines  "  climbing  toward  the  tops  of  high  cedars."  To 
the  first  Indian  they  encountered,  they  presented  a  shirt 
and  a  hat,  in  which  garments  he  probably  felt  very 
fine,  for  he  rowed  a  little  way  off  from  the  ship  and 
fell  to  fishing  with  his  rude  tackle,  and  when  he  had 
almost  swamped  his  canoe  with  fish,  he  divided  them 
between  the  white  men  in  the  two  ships.  An  Indian 
chief  who  visited  the  ships  fancied  a  bright  tin  dish 
more  than  anything  else  the  white  men  had.  Having 
procured  it  by  exchange,  he  made  a  hole  in  it,  and 
hung  it  on  his  breast  as  an  ornament. 


i6 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  expedition 
returns. 


Virginia  named. 


Ralegh's  first 
colony. 


Ralegh's  expedition  stayed  about  six  weeks  in  the 
New  World,  and,  everything  here  being  strange  to  the 
eyes  of  the  explorers,  they  fell  into  many  mistakes  in 
trying  to  describe  what  they  saw  and  heard.  When 
they  got  back  to  England,  they  declared  that  the  part 
of  America  they  had  seen  was  the  paradise  of  the 
world. 

Ralegh  was  much  encouraged  by  the  accounts  which 
his  two  captains  gave  of  the  new  country  they  had 
found.  It  was  named  Virginia  at  this  time,  in  honor 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  was  often 
called  the  "  Virgin  Queen."  But 
the  name  Virginia,  which  we  ap- 
ply to  two  of  our  States,  was 
then  used  for  all  the  territories 
claimed  by  the  English  in  Amer- 
ica— that  is  to  say,  for  the  whole 
coast  of  the  United  States  between 
Maine  and  Georgia,  so  far  as  it 
was  known. 

In  1585,  the  year  after  the  return  of 
the  first  expedition,  Ralegh  sent  out  a 
colony  to  remain  in  America.  Sir  Richard  Grenville, 
a  famous  seaman,  had  command  of  this  expedition ;  but 
he  soon  returned  to  England,  leaving  the  colony  in 
charge  of  Ralph  Lane.  There  were  no  women  in 
Ralph  Lane's  company.  They  made  their  settlement 
on  Roanoke  Island,  which  lies  near  to  the  coast  of 
North  Carolina,  and  they  explored  the  mainland  in 
many  directions.  They  spent  much  time  in  trying  to 
find  gold,  and  they  seem  to  have  thought  that  the 
shell-beads  worn  by  the  Indians  were  pearls.  Like  all 


SfK    WALTER  RALEGH'S  COLONY. 


the  others  who  came  to  America  in  that  time, 
they  were  very  desirous  of  finding  a  way  to 
get  across  America,  which  they  believed  to  be 
very  narrow.  They  hoped  to  reach  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  so  open  a  new  way  of  sailing  to 
China  and  the  East  Indies. 

The  Indians  by  this  time  were  tired  of  the 
white  men,  and  anxious  to  be  rid  of  them. 
They  told  Lane  that  the  Roanoke  River  came 
out  of  a  rock  so  near  to  a  sea  at  the  west  that 
the  water  sometimes  dashed  from  the  sea  into  the  river, 
making  the  water  of  the  river  salt.  Lane  believed  this  Lane  tries  to 

find  the  Pacific 

story,  and  set  out  with  most  of  his  men  to  find  a  sea  ocean, 
at  the  head,  of  the  river.  Long  before  they  got  to 
the  head  of  the  Roanoke  their  provisions  gave  out. 
But  Lane  made  a  brave  speech  to  his  men,  and  they 
resolved  to  go  on.  Having  nothing  else  to  eat,  they 
killed  their  two  dogs,  and  cooked  the  meat  with  sassa- 
fras-leaves to  give  it  a  relish.  When  this  meat  was  ex- 
hausted, they  got  into  their  boats  and  ran  swiftly  down 
the  river,  having  no  food  to  eat  on  the  way  home. 
Lane  got  back  to  Roanoke  Island  just  in  time  to  keep 
the  Indians  from  killing  the  men  he  had  left  there. 

Unluckily,  the  colony  at  this  time  had  an  un- 
expected  visitor.      Sir  Francis  Drake,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  naval  commanders,  who,  in  a  pre- 
vious voyage,  had  discovered  the  coast  of  Califor- 
nia, and  sailed  round  the  globe  in  the  track  of  Ma- 
gellan, had  been  about  this  time. attacking  the  Spanish  The  colony 
in  the  West  Indies.     On  his  return  he  put  in  at  Roanoke  iand  with  sir 
Island    to    inquire   after  the    colony.      He  furnished  the  F 
company  on  the  island  with  a  ship  and  with  whatever 


FRANCIS    DRAKE. 


r8 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Tobacco 
to  Engla 


brought 
nd. 


Ralegh's 
colony. 


else  they  needed.  But,  while  he  remained  at  Roanoke, 
a  storm  arose  which  drove  to  sea  the  ship  he  had  given 
to  Lane.  This  so  discouraged  the  colonists  that  they 
returned  to  England  in  Drake's  ships. 

Ralph  Lane  and  his  companions  were  the  first  to 
carry  tobacco  into  England.  They  learned  from  the 
Indians  to  smoke  it  in  Indian  fashion,  by  drawing  the 
smoke  into  their  mouths  and  puffing  it 
out  through  their  nostrils.  Ralegh 
adopted  the  practice,  and  many  dis- 
tinguished men  and  women  followed 
his  example.  The  use  of  tobacco  was 
greatly  promoted  by  an  erroneous 
opinion  of  the  time  that  it  had  great 
medicinal  virtue.  Some  of  the  first 
tobacco-pipes  in  England  were  made 
by  using  a  walnut-shell  for  the  bowl  of  the  pipe 
and  a  straw  for  the  stem.  It  is  related  that,  when 
Ralegh's  servant  first  saw  his  master  with  the  smoke 
coming  from  his  nose,  he  thought  him  to  be  on  fire,  and 
poured  a  pitcher  of  ale,  which  he  was  fetching,  over 
Sir  Walter's  head,  to  put  the  fire  out. 

Ralegh  set  to  work,  with  the  help  of  others,  to  send 
out  another  colony.  This  time  he  sent  women  and  chil- 
dren, as  well  as  men,  intending  to  make  a  permanent 
settlement.  The  governor  of  this  company  was  John 
White,  an  artist,  who  had  been  with  Lane's  colony. 
White  made  many  interesting  drawings  of  the  people, 
plants,  and  animals  of  the  country,  and  some  of  his  draw- 
ings are  still  preserved  in  London.  In  the  chapters  of 
this  book  devoted  to  the  Indians  are  some  pictures  made 
from  White's  drawings.  Soon  after  White's  company 


SIX    WALTER   RALEGH'S   COLONY.  Tg 

had  settled  themselves  on  Roanoke  Island,  an  English 
child  was  born.  This  little  girl,  being  the  first  English 
child  born  in  Virginia,  was  named  Virginia  Dare. 

John  White,  the  governor  of  the  colony,  who  was  Ralegh's  sec- 
Virginia  Dare's  grandfather,  went  back  to  England  for  disappears, 
supplies.  He  was  detained  by  the  war  with  Spain,  and, 
when  he  got  back  to  Roanoke  Island,  the  colony  had  dis- 
appeared. Ralegh  had  spent  so  much  money  already 
that  he  was  forced  to  give  up  the  attempt  to  plant  a 
colony  in  America.  But  he  sent  several  times  to  seek  for 
the  lost  people  of  his  second  colony,  without  finding 
them.  Twenty  years  after  John  White  left  them,  it  was 
said  that  seven  of  them  were  still  alive  among  the  In- 
dians of  North  Carolina. 

After  the  failure  of  White's  colony,  Ralegh  engaged  in  Death  of  Raie 
the  defense  of  England  against  the  Spanish  Armada.  On 
the  accession  of  James  I,  he  was  thrown  into  the  Tower 
of  London,  where  he  was  kept  for  more  than  twelve 
years,  and  then  released.  In  1618  King  James  had  this 
great  man  put  to  death  to  please  the  King  of  Spain. 
When  Ralegh  was  about  to  be  beheaded,  he  felt  of  the 
edge  of  the  axe,  and  said,  "  It  is  a  sharp  medicine  to 
cure  me  of  all  my  diseases."  He  was  a  great  soldier,  a 
great  statesman,  a  great  seaman,  an  excellent  historian, 
and  a  charming  poet.  He  is  said  to  have  first  planted 
the  potato  in  Ireland.  But  our  interest  in  him  here  arises 


PIPE    MADE  OF   THE 
OF   THE 

NGLISH    WALNUT. 


2O 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


.ves  to  col- 
planting. 


from  the  fact  that  his  was  the  first  colony  of  English 
people  that  was  ever  actually  landed  in  this  country, 
and  his  experiments  first  showed  the  true  way  of  plant- 
ing colonies  in  North  America. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


HOW    JAMESTOWN    WAS    SETTLED. 


AFTER  the  total  disappearance  of  Ra- 
legh's second  colony,  Englishmen  were 
for  a  while  too  much  engrossed  in  the 
war  with  Spain  and  their  own  politics  to  give 
any  attention  to  the  peopling  of  "  Virginia," 
as  they  called  the  coast  of  North  America. 
But  the  stories  of  a  virgin  land,  where  grapes 
grew  wild,  which  Ralegh's  ships  had  brought 
back,  probably  kept  alive  the  desire  to  plant  a  colony. 
Then,  too,  Spain,  the  great  enemy  of  England  at  that 
time,  was  deriving  vast  wealth  from  the  silver-mines  of 
Mexico  and  South  America,  and  men  asked  why  Eng- 
land should  not  find  silver  and  gold  in  the  unexplored 
wilderness  of  northern  America. 

In  1602,  sixteen  years  after  Ralegh  had  sent  his  second 
colony,  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  a  navigator  of  the  west  of 
England,  tried  to  plant  a  colony.  He  sailed  to  the  coast 
of  New  England,  and  gave  to  Cape  Cod  the  name  it 
bears  now,  and  then,  following  the  example  of  Ralegh's 
people,  he  selected  an  island  on  the  coast  for  his  colony. 
The  island  chosen  was  that  now  known  as  Cuttyhunk. 


HOW  JAMESTOWN    WAS    SETTLED.  2I 

This  island  contains  a  large  pond,  and  in  this  pond  is  a 

small  island,  and   on  this    little  island  Gosnold  thought 

that  with  twenty  men  he  might  be  safe  from  the  attacks 

of  the  savages.     Like  a  set  of  Crusoes,  they,  proceeded  to 

build  a  flat-bottomed  boat  to  ply  about  the  pond ;  then 

they  dug  a   cellar,  and   built  a  house  on  the   little   isl-  Qosnoid-s  colony 

and,  thatching  the  roof  with  grass.      But  there  sprang 

up   a  quarrel   about  the  division  of    the  profits   on   the 

furs  they  had  bought  from  the  Indians  and  the  sassafras 

they  had  dug,  and  so  the  whole  company  returned  to 

England,  and  the  coast  of  New  England  lay  without  an 

English  inhabitant  for  eighteen  years  longer. 

But  Gosnold  did  not  lie  idle.     The  great  thought  of  The  Virginia 

Company. 

planting  a  new  nation  in  America  had  taken  possession  of 
this  sea-captain,  as  it  had  before  of  the  brilliant  imagina- 
tion of  Ralegh.  Joining  himself  with  some  of  the  mer- 
chants who  had  been  partners  in  Sir  Walter's  last  vent- 
ure, and  others,  Gosnold  succeeded  in  forming  what  was 
generally  called  "  The  Virginia  Company."  This  com- 
pany sent  to  America  the  colony  that  made  the  first  per- 
manent beginning  of  English  settlement  in  this  country. 

It  was  in  the  stormy  December  of  1606  that  the  little  Departure  of  the 

colony. 

colony  set  out.  There  were,  of  course,  no  steamships 
then ;  and  the  vessels  they  had  were  clumsy,  small,  and 
slow.  The  largest  of  the  three  ships  that  carried  out 
the  handful  of  people  which  began  the  settlement  of  the 
United  States  was  named  "  Susan  Constant."  She  was 
of  a  hundred  tons  burden.  Not  many  ships  so  small 
cross  the  ocean  to-day.  But  the  "  God-speed "  which 
went  along  with  her  was  not  half  so  big,  and  the  smallest 
of  the  three  was  a  little  pinnace  of  only  twenty  tons, 
called  "  Discovery." 


A    MERCHANT   OF   THE 
VIRGINIA    COMPANY. 


22  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

The  voyage,  On  account  of  storms,  these  feeble  ships  were  not  able 

and  the  arrival 

in  Virginia.  to  get  out  of  sight  of  the  English  coast  for  six  weeks. 
People  in  that  time  were  afraid  to  sail  straight  across  the 
unknown  Atlantic  Ocean ;  they  went  away  south  by  the 
Canary  Islands  and  the  West  Indies,  and  so  made  the 
distance  twice  as  great  as  it  ought  to  have  been.  It  took 
the  new  colony  about  four  months  to  get  from  London  to 
Virginia.  They  intended  to  land  on  Roanoke  Island, 
where  Ralegh's  unfortunate  colonies  had  been  settled, 
but  a  storm  drove  them  into  a  large  river,  which  they 

called  "James  River,"  in 
honor  of  the  king.  They 
arrived  in  Virginia  in  the 
month  of  April,  when  the 
banks  of  the  river  were 
covered  with  flowers. 

PRESENT  APPEARANCE  H  ^^B3     Great    white    dog  -  wood 

HL\  Ji*  , 

blossoms    and    masses    of 

bright -colored     red -bud 
are  in  bloom  all  along  the 
James   River  at  this  sea- 
son.    It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,    that    the    new- 
comers     should      declare 
that    heaven    and    earth    had 
agreed    together  to   make   this   a 
country  to  live  in. 

After    sailing   up   and    down    the    river 
settlement  at        to  examine  the  country,  they  selected  for  their  dwellinp-- 

Jamestown. 

place  a  low-lying  but  pleasant-looking  peninsula,  which, 
by  the  action  ot  the  water,  has  since  become  an  island. 
They  named  this  place  Jamestown.  They  had  delayed 


HOW  JAMESTOWN    WAS   SETTLED.  2? 

so  long  that  their  supply  of  food  was  pretty  well  con- 
sumed, and  it  was  too  late  to  plant,  even  if  they  had 
had    cleared    ground.      They    had    brought    the    wrong 
kind  of   people  ;    most  of   them   were  "  gentlemen "  un- 
used   to  work,  and   unfit 
for     such     hardships     as 
now    befell    them.      One 
small  ladleful  of  pottage, 
made  of  worm-eaten  bar- 
ley or  wheat,  was  all  that 
was    given    to    a    man    for    a 
meal.     The  settlers  were  attacked 
by    the     Indians,    who    wounded 
seventeen  men  and  killed  one  boy 
in  the  fight. 

Each  man  in  Jamestown  had  to 
take  his  turn  every  third  night  in  watching  against  the  Many  of  the  coi 
Indians,  lying  on  the  cold,  bare  ground  all  night.  The 
only  water  to  drink  was  that  from  the  river,  which 
was  bad.  The  people  were  soon  nearly  all  of  them 
sick ;  there  were  not  five  able-bodied  men  to  defend 
the  place  had  it  been  attacked.  Sometimes  as  many 
as  three  or  four  died  in  a  single  night,  and  sometimes 
the  living  were  hardly  able  to  bury  those  who  had 
died.  There  were  about  a  hundred  colonists  landed 
at  Jamestown,  and  one  half  of  these  died  in  the  first 
few  months.  All  this  time  the  men  in  Jamestown  were 
living  in  wretched  tents  and  poor  little  hovels  covered 
with  earth,  and  some  of  them  even  in  holes  dug  into 
the  ground.  As  the  sickness  passed  away,  those  who 
remained  built  themselves  better  cabins,  and  thatched 
the  roofs  with  straw. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Adventures  of 
Captain  John 
Smith. 


One  of  the  most  industrious  men  in  the  colony  at 
this  time  was  Captain  John  Smith,  a  young  man  who 
had  had  many  adventures,  of  which  he  was  fond  of 
boasting.  Born  in  England  in  1579,  he  went 
into  the  wars  in  the  Netherlands  while  he 
was  little  more  than  a  boy.  He  was  after- 
ward shipwrecked,  robbed,  and  in  great 
peril  from  want  in  France.  He  was,  he 
tells  us,  thrown  overboard  by  superstitious 
pilgrims  in  a  storm,  as  a  kind  of  Jonah, 
but,  finding  no  whale  to  save  him,  he  man- 
aged to  swim  ashore.  The  Turks  and 
Christians  were  at  that  time  fighting  in  the 
east  of  Europe,  and  all  sorts  of  adventurers 
sought  these  wars,  among  the  rest  this  roving 
young  John  Smith.  Here,  if  we  may  believe  his 
own  account  of  himself,  he  introduced  a  new  way  of 
signaling  from  one  part  of  the  army  to  another,  and 
invented  a  destructive  kind  of  fire-works.  One  day, 
while  the  Christians  were  besieging  a  town,  a  Turk 
rode  out  and  challenged  any  Christian  to  fight  him  in 
mortal  combat,  for  the  amusement  of  the  ladies,  who 
found  the  time  pass  heavily,  no  doubt,  in  a  besieged 
city.  Ladies  in  that  day,  whether  Turks  or  Christians, 
liked  these  bloody  encounters.  Smith  engaged  the  Turk 
and  killed  him,  as  he  did  another  the  next  day,  and 
then  a  third.  For  this  success,  Smith  was  granted 
a  coat  of  arms  bearing  three  Turks'  heads  in  a  shield. 
He  was  at  length  made  prisoner  by  the  Turks  and 
reduced  to  galling  slavery,  from  which  he  escaped  by 
beating  out  his  master's  brains  with  a  flail,  dressing 
himself  in  his  master's  clothes,  mounting  his  horse,  and 


HOW  JAMESTOWN    WAS   SETTLED.  2c 

getting  off  into  the  wilderness  with  a  sack  of  wheat  for 
food,  and  so  making  his  way  into  Russia,  after  sixteen 
days  of  wandering.  After  other  adventures,  he  got  back 
to  England,  still  a  young  man.  With  a  liking  for  bold 
undertakings,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  join  the  new 
colony  setting  sail  for  Virginia. 

In  Virginia  he  followed  the  same  adventurous  career,  smith  captured 
He  took  the  little  pinnace  "  Discovery  "  and  sailed  up    \  * 
and  down  the  rivers  and  bays  of  Virginia,  exploring  the 
country,  getting  acquainted  with  many  tribes  of  Indians, 
and  exchanging  beads,  bells,  and  other  trinkets  for  corn, 
with  which  he  kept  the  Jamestown  people  from  starv- 
ing.    In  one  of  these  trips  he  was  attacked  by  the  In- 
dians, who  killed  ten  of   his  men  and  made  him 
prisoner.      But   he    interested    the   savages   in   his 
pocket-compass,  which  was  a  great  mystery  to  them, 
and  so  diverted  them  from  putting  him  to  death.     The 
Indians  led  him  from  one  of  their  villages  to  another, 
probably  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  their  people  regard- 
ing this  strange  captive.      He  was  brought  at  length 
to  Powhatan,  the  head  chief  of  about  thirty  tribes, 
who   after    a    while    set   him    free   and   sent    him 
back  to  Jamestown.     During  this  captivity  he  won  the 
friendship  of  Pocahontas,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Pow- 
hatan.     She   was   then  about   ten  or  eleven   years   old,  W|TH  *A°°LH*"K  QUM 
and  Captain   Smith  greatly  admired   her.      Many  years    *ND  L'OHTED  FU8E- 
afterward    he  said   that   Powhatan  had  at  one  time  or- 
dered his   brains   beaten   out,  and    that,   when   his  head 
was  laid  upon  a  stone  for  that  purpose,  Pocahontas  had 
put  her  arms  about  his  neck  and  saved  his  life.      The 
story  is  so  pretty  and   romantic  that  one  does  not  like 
to  disbelieve  it. 


26 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


John  Smith  was  the  first  to  explore 
Chesapeake    Bay,  which  he  did    in  two 
voyages,  enduring  many  hardships  with 
cheerfulness.     When  it  was  cold,  Smith 
and  his  men  would  move  their  fire  two 
or   three    times   of    a    night,    that    they 
might    have    the    warm    ground    to    lie 
upon.      He   managed   the    Indians    well, 
getting    corn    for   the   settlers  ;    he    con- 
trived to  put  down  several  mutinies  at 
stand*  °     Jamestown,  and    rendered    many  other 
services    to    the    colony.      He    was    the 
leading  man  in  the  settlement,  and   came  at  length 
captain  smith  as  to    be    governor.      But    when    many    hundreds    of    new 

. 

settlers  were  brought  out  under  men  who  were  his 
enemies,  and  Smith  had  been  injured  by  an  explosion 
of  gunpowder,  he  gave  up  the  government  and  went 
back  to  England.  He  afterward  explored  the  coast 
north  of  Cape  Cod,  and  named  that  country  New  Eng- 
land. His  chief  fault  was  a  vanity  that  led  him  to 
make  the  most  of  his  adventures,  which  appear  to  have 
been  romantic  enough,  even  when  allowance  is  made  for 
his  proneness  to  exaggeration  in  telling  them. 


explorer  and  gov- 


The  s 
time. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE   STARVING   TIME,   AND   WHAT   FOLLOWED. 

WHEN  Captain  John  Smith  went  back  to  England,  in 
1609,  there  were  nearly  five  hundred  white  people  in 
Virginia.  But  the  settlers  soon  got  into  trouble  with  the 


THE    STARVING    TIME. 


Indians,  who  lay  in  the  woods  and  killed  every  one  that 
ventured  out.  There  was  no  longer  any  chance  to  buy 
corn,  and  the  food  was  soon  exhausted.  The  starving 
people  ate  the  hogs,  the  dogs,  and  the  horses,  even  to 
their  skins.  Then  they  ate  rats,  mice,  snakes,  toad- 
stools, and  whatever  they  could  get  that  might  stop  their 
hunger.  A  dead  Indian  was  presently  eaten,  and,  as 
their  hunger  grew  more  extreme,  the  people  were  forced 
to  consume  their  own  dead.  Starving  men  wandered 
off  into  the  woods  and  died  there  ;  their  companions, 
finding  them,  devoured  them  as  hungry  wild  beasts 
might  have  done.  This  was  always  afterward  remem- 
bered as  "  the  starving  time." 

Along  with  the  people  who  came  at  the  close  of  John  sir  Thomas  Gates 
Smith's  time,  there  had  been  sent  another  ship-load  of  Bermuda  islands, 
people,  with  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  a  new  governor  for  the 
colony.     This  vessel  had  been  shipwrecked,  but  Gates 
and  his  people  had  got  ashore 
on    the    Bermuda 
,.,--   Islands. 


These 

islands    had 

no  inhabitants  at 

that  time.      Here  these  shipwrecked 

people  lived  well  on  wild  hogs.     When  spring 

came,   they   built   two   little   vessels   of    the   cedar-trees 

which   grew   on   the    island.      These    they   rigged  with 

sails    taken    from    their    wrecked    ships,    and,    getting 


28 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Gates  reaches 
Jamestown. 


Arrival  of  De 
Warr. 


their  people  aboard,  they  made  their  way  to  James- 
town. 

When  they  got  there,  they  found  alive  but  sixty  of 
the  four  hundred  and  ninety  people  left  in  Virginia  in 
the  autumn  before,  and  these  sixty  would  all  have  died 
had  Gates  been  ten  days  later  in  coming.  The  food 
that  Gates  brought  would  barely  last  them  sixteen 
days.  So  he  put  the  Jamestown  people  aboard  his  little 
cedar  ships,  intending  to  sail  to  Newfoundland  in  hope 
of  there  falling  in  with  some  English  fishing-vessels. 
He  set  sail  down  the  river,  leaving  not  one  English 
settler  on  the  whole  continent  of 
America. 

But,  before  Gates  and  his  peo- 
ple got  out  of  James  River,  they 
met    a    boat    rowing    up    toward 
them.      Lord     De    la    Warr, 
whose  name   we  now  write 
Delaware,    had    been    sent 
out  from   England  as  gov- 
ernor   of    Virginia.      From 
some  Englishmen  stationed  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  he  had 
learned    that    Gates   and   all   the 

people  were  coming  down.  He  immediately  sent  his 
long-boat  to  turn  them  back  again.  On  a  Sunday 
morning  De  la  Warr  landed  at  Jamestown,  which 
looked  like  some  ancient  ruin,  because  the  wretched 
people  had  burned  many  of  the  palisades  and  cabins 
for  fire-wood.  De  la  Warr's  first  act  was  to  kneel  upon 
the  shore  awhile  in  prayer.  Then  he  went  to  the  little 
church,  where  he  took  possession  of  the  government, 


THE    STARVING    TIME.  2Q 

and  rebuked  the  people  for  the  idleness  that  had  brought 
them  so  much  suffering. 

But    Lord    De    la  Warr   held    to   the   notion   of   the  DC  ia  warr-s 

government. 

time,  that  there  must  be  gold  in  almost  every  mountain 
in  America  ;  so  he  wasted  time  in  trying  to  penetrate 
to  the  mountains  for  gold,  and  in  building  a  fort  higher 
up  the  river,  where  Richmond  now  stands,  which  was 
abandoned  as  soon  as  finished.  A  great  sickness  pre- 
vailed, and  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  colonists  died. 
Lord  De  la  Warr,  finding  himself  very  ill,  left  the  col- 
ony, to  the  great  discouragement  of  the  people. 

The  next  year  Sir  Thomas  Dale  took  charge,  and  he  sir  Thomas  Dale, 
remained  in  Virginia  for  five  years,  part  of  the  time 
as  governor-in-chief  and  part  of  the  time  as  second  in 
command  under  Sir  Thomas  Gates.  Dale  was  a  soldier, 
and  ruled  with  extreme  severity.  He  forced  the  idle 
settlers  to  labor,  he  drove  away  some  of  the  Indians  and 
settled  new  towns,  and  he  built  fortifications.  But  the 
people  hated  him  for  his  savage  harshness.  He  punished 
men  by  flogging,  and  by  setting  them  to  work  in  irons 
for  years.  Those  who  rebelled  in  desperation,  or  tried 
to  run  away  from  their  misery,  were  caught  and  put 
to  death  in  barbarous  ways.  Some  were  burned  alive, 
others  tortured  by  being  broken  on  the  wheel,  and 
one  man  for  merely  stealing  food  to  satisfy  his  hun- 
ger was  chained  up  in  a  cruel  way  and  left  to  starve 
to  death. 

Powhatan,  the  head  chief  of  the  neighboring  tribes,  The  capture 

0  of  Pocahontas. 

gave  the  colony  a  great  deal  of  trouble  during  the  first  Her  marriage, 
part  of  Dale's  time.      His  daughter  Pocahontas,  who  as 
a  child  had  often  played  with  the  boys  within  the  pali- 
sades of  Jamestown,  and  had  shown  herself  friendly  to 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Pocahontas  in 
England. 


Tobacco  first 
raised  in  Vir- 


Captain  Smith  and  others  in  their  trips  among  the  In- 
dians, was  now  a  woman  grown.  While  she  was  vis- 
iting a  chief  named  Japazaws,  an 
English  captain  named  Argall 
bribed  that  chief  with  a  cop- 
per kettle  to  betray  her  into 
his  hands.  Argall  took 
her  a  captive  to  James- 
town. Here  a  white 
man  by  the  name  of 
John  Rolfe  married 
her,  after  she  had  re- 
ceived Christian  bap- 
tism. This  marriage 
brought  about  a  peace 
between  Powhatan  and 
the  English  settlers  in 
Virginia. 
When  Dale  went  back  to 

;|  '^  '•y' 

England  in  1616  he  took  with 
him  some  of  the  Indians.  Poca- 
hontas,  who  was  now  called  "the  Lady  Rebecca,"  and 
her  husband  went  to  England  with  Dale.  Pocahontas 
was  called  a  "  princess  "  in  England,  and  received  much 
attention.  But  when  about  to  start  back  to  the  colony 
she  died,  leaving  a  little  son. 

One  of  the  first  requisites  for  the  success  of  a  colony 
is  some  commodity  that  may  be  exported  to  pay  for 
clothing  and  those  other  necessaries  of  life  which  must 
be  bought  from  older  countries.  The  attempts  to  find 
gold  or  silver  in  Virginia  had  proved  vain.  Silk,  cot- 
ton, and  many  other  things  were  attempted  at  James- 


THE    STARVING    TIME.  ^ 

town  from  the  very  start,  but  the  only  product  that  was 
found  really  profitable  was  tobacco.  This  "  weed,"  as  it 
was  even  then  called,  was,  like  Indian  corn  and  the  po- 
tato, unknown  to  Europe  until  after  America  was  dis- 
covered. It  was  introduced  under  the  belief  that  it  was 
of  great  value  as  a  medicine.  When  Ralegh  had  made 
its  use  fashionable  in  England,  the  English  people  bought 
their  tobacco  from  Spain.  But  John  Rolfe,  the  same 
who  married  Pocahontas,  and  who  seems  to  have  been 
fond  of  new  experiments,  thought  that,  if  the  Virginia 
Indians  could  grow  tobacco  for  their  own  use,  he  might 
grow  it  in  Virginia  for  the  English  market.  He  tried 
tobacco-culture  in  1612,  and  it  was  immediately  so  sue- 


GETTING  READY  TO  GO  TO  VIR- 
GINIA ;  SHOWING  THE  DRESS 
OF  PEOPLE  IN  THAT  TIME. 


cessful  that  tobacco  became  in  three  or  four  years  the 
money  by  which  trade  was  carried  on  and  debts  paid, 
and  it  remained  the  recognized  currency  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  for  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Tobacco 


,2  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

brought  a  large  price  in  1612  and  for  years  afterward, 
and,  as  it  furnished  the  first  means  by  which  people  in 
Virginia  might  gain  a  living,  it  helped  to  make  the 
colony  successful.  But  in  1616,  when  Dale  gave  up 
the  government,  there  were  only  about  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  English  people  in  Virginia,  and  none 
besides  in  North  America. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    GREAT    CHARTER    OF    VIRGINIA,    AND    THE    FIRST 
MASSACRE    BY    THE    INDIANS. 

Living  and  work-         DURING  all  the  early  years  of  the  Virginia  colony  the 

ing  in  common. 

people  were  fed  and  clothed  out  of  a  common  stock  of 
provisions.  They  were  also  obliged  to  work  for  this 
stock.  No  division  was  made  of  the  land,  nor  could  the 
industrious  man  get  any  profit  by  his  hard  work.  The 
laziest  man  was  as  well  off  as  the  one  who  worked  hard- 
est, and  under  this  arrangement  men  neglected  their 
work,  and  the  colony  was  always  poor.  The  colonists 
had  been  promised  that  after  five  years  they  should  have 
land  of  their  own  and  be  free,  but  this  promise  was  not 
kept.  In  1614  Sir  Thomas  Dale  gave  to  some  who  had 
ENGLISH  COUNTRYMAN  been  longest  in  Virginia  three  acres  of  ground  apiece, 
and  allowed  them  one  month  in  the  year  to  work  on 
their  little  patches.  For  this  they  must  support  them- 
selves and  give  the  rest  of  their  work  to  the  common 
stock.  Even  this  arrangement  made  them  more  indus- 
trious. But  the  cruel  military  laws  put  in  force  by  the 


THE    GREAT   CHARTER    OF    VIRGINIA. 


33 


governor  made  Virginia  so  unpopular  that  men  sen- 
tenced to  be  hanged  for  petty  felonies  refused  pardon 
when  offered  to  them  on  condition  of  their  going  to  the 
colony. 

Argall,  who  came  after  Dale,  was  a  greedy  rascal.  The  Great  char 
who  governed  very  badly,  and  Virginia  was  almost 
ruined.  In  1618  many  new  emigrants  came  out,  and 
Lord  De  la  Warr  was  again  sent  as  governor,  but  he 
died  on  the  way.  The  "  Virginia  Company,"  of  London, 
which  had  the  government  of  the  colony  about  this  time, 
began  to  come  under  the  control  of  certain  great  states- 
men with  liberal  ideas.  Among  them  was  Sir  Edwin 
Sandys  and  the  Earl  of  Southampton.  These  men  were 
engaged  in  Parliament  in  resisting  the  tyranny  of  King 
James's  government,  and  in  trying  to  establish  liberty  in 
England.  This  was  slow  work  in  an  old  country  where 
the  sovereign  had  long  had  almost  absolute  power.  But 
Southampton  and  Sandys  and  their  friends  probably 
thought  it  best  to  begin  rightly  in  Virginia,  and  so  to 
make  that  country  a  refuge  for  those  who  suffered  from 
oppression  in  England.  The  Virginia  Company,  taking 
advantage  of  the  power  which  the  king  had  given  to  it, 
granted  to  Virginia,  in  November,  1618,  a  "Great 
Charter,"  under  which  the  people  of  the  colony  were 
allowed  a  voice  in  making  their  own  laws.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  free  government  in  America.  Under 
the  charter  the  government  of  Virginia  was  put  into  the 
hands  of  a  governor,  a  "  council  of  estate,"  and  a  "  Gen- 
eral Assembly."  The  members  of  the  General  Assembly 
were  chosen  to  represent  the  different  settlements  or 
"  boroughs  "  in  Virginia.  The  other  American  colonies 
afterward  took  pattern  from  this  threefold  government. 


COUNTRYWOMAN 
OF   THE    TIME. 


24  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Features  of  the  The  government  of  the  United  States  by  a  President, 

ment  that  re-  a  Senate,  and  a  House  of  Representatives  shows  that  the 
ideas  put  into  the  Great  Charter  have  left  their  mark  on 
the  Constitution  of  our  country.  The  governments  of 
all  our  States  also  show  traces  of  the  same  idea.  Each 
State  has  a  governor,  a  Senate,  and  a  House  of  Representa- 
tives. So  that  the  plan  arranged  in  1618  for  a  few  hun- 
dred people  in  Virginia  was  a  tiny  stream  that  has  spread 
out  into  a  great  river. 
Division  of  land  The  Great  Charter  also  gave  the  people  of  Virginia 

in  Virginia. 

the  right  to  divide  the  land  into  farms,  and  to  own  and 
work  ground  each  for  himself.  When  the  new  governor, 
Sir  George  Yeardley,  got  to  Virginia  in  the  spring  of 
1619,  bringing  this  good  news  that  the  settlers  were  to 
live  under  laws  of  their  own  making,  were  to  cultivate 
their  own  land,  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  own  labors, 
they  thought  themselves  the  happiest  people  in  the 
world, 
sending  of  wives  ^  this  time  there  were  but  few  women  in  Virginia, 

to  Virginia. 

and  none  of  the  men  intended  to  remain  there  long.  It 
was  thought  that  the  colony  would  be  more  firmly  plant- 
ed if  the  colonists  had  wives.  Young  women  were  there- 
fore sent  out  to  be  married  to  the  settlers.  But,  before 
any  man  could  marry  one  of  these,  he  was  obliged  to 
gain  her  consent,  and  to  pay  the  cost  of  her  passage, 
which  was  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  tobac- 
co. This  venture  proved  very  satisfactory  to  the  Vir- 
ginians, and  ship-loads  of  women  were  therefore  sent  for 
wives  from  time  to  time  for  years  afterward.  When  the 
colonists  had  land  and  houses  of  their  own,  with  wives 
and  children,  they  felt  themselves  at  home  in  America, 
and  no  longer  thought  of  going  back  to  England. 


THE    GREAT   CHARTER    OF    VIRGINIA.  ^ 

Before  this  there  had  been  a  good  many  small  wars  Indian  trouble 
and  troubles  of  one  kind  or  other  with  the  Indians.  But, 
as  the  Indians  had  few  fire-arms,  the  white  men  could 
easily  defend  themselves.  After  1619  many  efforts  were 
made  to  civilize  and  convert  the  savages.  Money  was 
given  to  educate  their  children,  and  a  college  was  planned 
for  them.  To  conciliate  Opechankano,  who  was  brother 
to  Powhatan  and  had  succeeded  him,  the  white  people 
built  that  chief  a  house.  Nothing  about  this  dwelling 
interested  its  owner  so  much  as  the  lock,  which  was  a 
great  novelty  to  him.  He  took  delight  in  locking  and 
unlocking  the  door  many  times  a  day. 

One  ambitious  Indian  brave,  whom  the  white  people  "Jack  of  the 
called  "Jack  of  the  Feather,"  and  who  was  believed  to  be 
proof  against  bullets,  was  suspected  of  wishing  war.  At 
length  he  killed  a  white  man,  and  the  white  man's  serv- 
ants, in  trying  to  take  him  to  the  governor,  shot  him. 
The  Indians  did  not  show  any  resentment  at  his  death  at 
first,  and  Opechankano  said  that  the  sky  might  fall  soon-- 
•er  than  he  would  break  the  peace.  But  on  the  22d  of 
March,  1622,  while  the  men  of  the  colony  were  in  the 
fields,  the  Indians  suddenly  fell  on  the  settlements,  killing 
the  white  people  mostly  with  their  own  axes,  hatch- 
ets, and  hoes.  Three  hundred  and  forty-seven 
men,  women,  and  children  were  slain  in  a  single 
day.  One  Indian  lad,  living  in  a  white  man's 
house,  had  been  notified  by  his  brother,  who  lay 
down  by  him  during  the  night,  that 
the  massacre  would  take  place  the 
next  day,  and  that  he  was  expected 
to  'slay  the  man  in  whose  house  he 
dwelt,  whose  name  was  Pace.  But 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


the  boy  could  not  bear  to  kill 
his    benefactor,    and   when    his 
brother   had    gone    he   got   up 
and   warned    Mr.   Pace   of   the 
impending  danger.     Pace  hast- 
ened   to   Jamestown   and    noti- 
fied the  governor,  so  that  some 
of   the  settlements   had   time   to 
put  themselves  in  a  state  of  de- 
fense.    From  this  time  there  was 
almost   continual    war    with    the 
Indians  for  many  years. 

King  James  did  not  like  the 
Virginia   Company  after   it  passed 
into  the  hands  of  those  who  wished 
to   establish   the   liberties  of   the   people, 
The  Virginia    and  he  made  many  efforts  to  get  it  out  of  their  control. 

Company   dis- 

solved.  In  1624  the  company  was  dissolved,  and  the  colony  was 

•put  under  the  government  of  the  king.  But  the  king, 
when  he  put  down  the  Virginia  Company,  promised 
to  the  colony  all  the  liberties  which  they  then  enjoyed. 
This  promise  was  not  well  kept  by  his  successors  in 
after-years  ;  the  Virginians  were  often  oppressed  by  the 
governors  sent  to  them,  and  in  1639  one  Kemp,  the 
secretary  of  the  colony,  seems  to  have  run  away  to 
England  with  the  Great  Charter  of  1618,  of  which  no 
copy  can  now  be  found.  But  the  right  to  pass  laws  in 
the  General  Assembly  was  never  quite  taken  away. 


THE    COMING   OF    THE   PILGRIMS. 


37 


PURITAN    OF   THE 
MIDDLE    CLASS. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE    COMING    OF    THE    PILGRIMS. 

IN  the  seventeenth  century  (that  is, 
between  the  year  1600  and  the  year 
1700)  there  was  much  religious  per- 
secution. In  some  countries  the 
Catholics  persecuted  the  Protest- 
ants, in  other  countries  the  Protest- 
ants persecuted  the  Catholics,  and  sometimes  one  kind 
of  Protestant  persecuted  another.  There  were  people 
in  England  who  did  not  like  the  ceremonies  of  the  The  separati 
Church  of  England,  as  established  by  law.  These  were 
called  Puritans.  Some  of  these  went  so  far  as  to  sepa- 
rate themselves  from  the  Established  Church,  and  thus 
got  the  name  of  Separatists.  They  were  persecuted  in 
England,  and  many  of  them  fled  to  Holland. 

Among  these  were  the  members  of  a  little  Separat-  The  pilgrims 

in  Holland. 

ist  congregation  in  Scrooby,  in  the  north  of  England, 
whose  pastor's  name  was  John  Robinson.  In  1607,  the 
year  in  which  Jamestown  was  settled,  these  persecuted 
people  left  England  and  settled  in  Holland,  where  they 
lived  about  thirteen  years,  most  of  the  time  in  the  city 
of  Leyden.  Then  they  thought  they  would  like  to  plant 
a  colony  in  America,  where  they  could  be  religious  in 
their  own  way.  These  are  the  people  that  we  call  "  The 
Pilgrims,"  on  account  of  their  wanderings  for  the  sake 
of  their  religion. 

About  half  of  them  were  to  go  first.     The  rest  went 
down  to  the  sea  to  say  farewell  to  those  who  were  going. 


PURITAN    OF 


85936 


THE    COMING    OF    THE   PILGRIMS. 


39 


It  was  a  sad   parting,  as  they  all  knelt  down  on  the 
shore   and    prayed   together.      The   Pilgrims  came  to 
America  in  a  ship  called  the  Mayflower.    There 
were  about  a  hundred  of  them,  and  they  had 
a  stormy  and  wretched  passage.     They  intend- 
ed to  go  to  the  Hudson  River,  but  their  cap- 
tain took  them  to  Cape  Cod.     After  exploring 

the  coast  north  of  that  cape  for  some  distance,  they  se-  The  voyage  to 
lected  as  a  place  to  land  a  harbor  which  had  been  called   MTyfowe'" 
Plymouth  on  the  map  prepared  by  Captain  John  Smith, 
who  had  sailed  along  this  coast  in  an  open  boat  in  1614. 

All  the  Indians  who  had  lived  at  this  place  had  died  The  landing  of 

the  Pilgrims. 

a  few  years  before  of  a  pestilence,  and  the  Pilgrims 
found  the  Indian  fields  unoccupied.  They  first  landed  at 
Plymouth  on  the  nth  day  of  December,  1620,  as  the 
days  were  then  counted.  This  is  the  same  as  the  2ist  of 
December  now,  the  mode  of  counting  having  changed 
since  that  time.  (Through  a  mistake,  the  22d  of  Decem- 
ber is  sometimes  kept  in  New  England  as  "  Forefathers' 
Day.")  Before  landing,  the  Pilgrims  drew  up  an  agree- 
ment by  which  they  promised  to  be  governed. 

The  bad  voyage,  the  poor  food  with  which  they  were  Hair  of  the 
provided,  and  a  lack  of  good  shelter  in  a  climate  colder 
than  that  from  which  they  came,  had  their  natural  effect. 
Like   the   first   settlers   at   Jamestown,    they    were   soon 
nearly  all  sick.     Forty-four  out  of  the  hundred  Pil 
grims  died  before  the  winter  was  ended,  and  by 
the  time   the   first   year  was   over  half  of   them 
were   dead.      The    Pilgrims    were   afraid   of   the 
Indians,  some   of   whom    had  attacked    the   first 
exploring    party    that    had    landed.      To    prevent 
the  savages  from  finding  out  how  much  the  colony 


4o 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


First  acquaint- 
ance with  the 
Indians. 


Myles  Standish 
and  the  Indians. 


Plymouth  united 
with  Massachu- 
setts in  1692. 


had  been  weakened  by  disease,  they  leveled  all  the 
graves,  and  planted  Indian  corn  over  the  place  in  which 
the  dead  were  buried. 

One  day,  after  the  winter  was  over,  an  Indian  walked 
into  the  village  and  said  in  English,  "  Welcome,  English- 
men." He  was  a  chief  named  Samoset,  who  had 
learned  a  little  English  from  the  fishermen  on  the 
coast  of  Maine.  Samoset  afterward  brought  with 
him  an  Indian  named  Squanto,  who 
had  been  carried  away  to  England  by 
a  cruel  captain  many  years  before,  and 
then  brought  back.  Squanto  remained 
with  the  Pilgrims,  and  taught  them  how  to 
npnBfc  plant  their  corn  as  the  Indians  did,  by  putting 
one  or  two  fish  into  every  hill  for  manure. 
.  He  taught  them  many  other  things,  and  acted  as 
their  interpreter  in  their  trading  with  the  Indians.  He 
told  the  Indians  that  they  must  keep  peace  with  the 
white  men,  who  had  the  pestilence  stored  in  their  cellar 
along  with  the  gunpowder !  The  neighboring  chief, 
Massasoit,  was  also  a  good  friend  to  the  Pilgrims  as 
long  as  he  lived. 

Captain  Myles  Standish  was  the  military  commander 
at  Plymouth.  He  dealt  severely  with  any  Indians  sup- 
posed to  be  hostile.  Finding  that  certain  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Indians  were  planning  to  kill  all  the  whites,  he 
and  some  of  his  men  seized  the  plotters  suddenly  and 
killed  them  with  the  knives  which  the  Indians  wore  sus- 
pended from  their  own  necks. 

The  people  of  Plymouth  suffered  much  from  scarcity 
of  food  for  several  years.  They  had  often  nothing  but 
oysters  or  clams  to  eat  for  a  long  time  together,  and  no 


THE    COMING    OF    THE    PILGRIMS. 


;  water.  They  held  their  meetings  in  a  square 
top  of  a  hill.  On  the  flat  roof  of  this  house 
K  small  cannon.  The  people  were  called  to 
cnuicii  uy  the  beating,  of  a  drum.  The  men  marched 
in  procession  to  church,  followed  by  the  governor,  the 
elder  or  preacher,  and  Captain  Standish.  They  carried 
loaded  fire-arms  with  them  when  they 
went  to  meeting  on  Sunday,  and  put 
them  where  they  could  reach  them 
easily.  The  town  was  surrounded  by 
a  stockade,  and  had  three  gates.  Eld- 
er Brewster  was  the  religious  teacher 
of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  their 
minister,  John  Robinson,  having  stayed 
with  those  who  waited  in  Holland,  and  died 
there.  It  is  said  that  Brewster,  when  he  had 
nothing  but  shell-fish  and  water  for  dinner,  would 
cheerfully  give  thanks  that  they  were  "  permit- 
ted to  suck  of  the  abundance  of  the 
seas  and  of  the  treasures 
hid  in  the  sand."  Like  the 
Jamestown  people,  they 
tried  a  plan  of  living  out 
of  a  common  stock, 
but  with  no  better  suc- 
cess. In  1624  each 
family  received  a  small 
allotment  of  land  for 
its  own,  and  from  that 
time  there  was  always 
plenty  to  eat  in  Plym- 
outh. Others  of  the 


PILGRIMS    ESCORTING    THE   GOVERNOR, 
ELDER    BI1EW8TER,    AND    MYLES   STANDISH    TO    MEETING. 


,2  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Pilgrims  came  to  them  from  Holland,  as  well  as  a  few 
emigrants  from  England.  Plymouth  Colony  was,  next 
to  Virginia,  the  oldest  colony  of  all,  but  it  did  not  grow 
very  fast,  and  in  1692,  by  a  charter  from  King  William 
III,  it  was  united  with  Massachusetts,  of  which  its  terri- 
tory still  forms  a  part. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   COMING   OF  THE   PURITANS. 

BEFORE  the  Pilgrims  had  become  comfortably  set- 
tled in  their  new  home,  other  English  people  came 
to  various  parts  of  the  New  England  coast  to 
the  northward  of  Plymouth.  About  1623  a  few 
scattering  immigrants,  mostly  fishermen,  traders 
with  the  Indians,  and  timber-cutters,  began  to 
settle  here  and  there  along  the  sea  about  Massa- 
settiers  along  chusetts  Bay,  and  in  what  afterward  came  to  be  the 
land  coast.  colonies  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine. 

We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  that  the  Pil- 
grims belonged  to  that  party  which  had  separated  itself 
from  the  Church  of   England,  and  so  got   the  name  of 
The  English     Separatists.     But  there  were  also  a  great  many  people 

Puritans. 

who  did  not  like  the  ceremonies  of  the  Established 
Church,  but  who  would  not  leave  it.  These  were  called 
Puritans,  because  they  sought  to  purify  the  Church  from 
what  they  thought  to  be  wrong.  They  formed  a  large 
part  of  the  English  people,  and  at  a  later  time,  under 
Oliver  Cromwell,  they  got  control  of  England.  But  at 


OLIVER    CROMWEL 


PURITAN    GENTLEMAN. 


THE    COMING    OF    THE   PURITANS.  *^ 

'    i  time  of  the  settlement  of    New  England  the  party 
opposed  to  the  Puritans  was  in  power,  and  the  Puritans 
were  persecuted.     The  little  colony  of  Plymouth,  which 
had  now  got  through  its  sufferings,  showed  them  a 
way  out   of   their   troubles.      Many   of   the    Puritans 
began  to  think  of  emigration. 

In    1628,   when    Plymouth    had    been   settled   almost 
eight  years,  the  Massachusetts  Company  was  formed. 
This    was    a    company    like    the    Virginia    Company 
that  had  governed  Virginia  at  first.     The  Massachu- 
setts  Company    was    controlled    by    Puritans,   and    pro-  The  Massacnu- 
posed  to  make  settlements  within  the  territory  granted  sends  out  its 
to  it  in  New  England.     The  first  party  sent  out  by  this  ,6r2s8. " 
company  settled  at  Salem  in  1628.     Other  settlers  were 
sent  the  next  year. 

But  in    1630  a  new  and  bold  move  was  made.     The  The  ereat  mi- 
gration to  Mas- 
Massachusetts  Company   resolved   to  change   the   place  sachusetts,  1630. 

of  holding  its  meetings  from  London  to  its  new  colony 
in  America.  This  would  give  the  people  in  the  colony, 
as  members  of  the  company,  a  right  to  govern  them- 
selves. The  principal  founder  of  the  Massachusetts  Col- 
ony and  the  most  remarkable  and  admirable  man  among 
its  leaders  was  John  Winthrop,  who  was  born  in  1588. 
He  was  chosen  Governor  of  the  Massachusetts  Company 
in  order  that  he  might  bring  the  charter  and  all  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  government  with  him  to  America.  When 
this  proposed  change  became  known  in  England,  many 
of  the  Puritans  desired  to  go  to  America.  Winthrop, 
the  new  governor,  set  sail  for  Massachusetts  Bay  in  1630 
with  the  charter  and  about  a  thousand  people.  The 
governor  and  a  part  of  his  company  settled  at  Boston, 
and  that  became  the  capital  of  the  colony.  PUR.TAN  LADY. 


44 


HISTORY   OF    THE  UNITED    STATES. 


Character  of 
Winthrop. 


Emigration  to 
New  England. 


Winthrop  was  almost  continually  governor  unt^e 
died,  in  1649.  He  was  a  man  of  great  wisdom.  Wu^a 
another  of  the  leading  men  in  the  colony  wrote  him  an 
angry  letter,  he  sent  it  back,  saying  that  "  he  was  not 
willing  to  keep  such  a  provocation  to  ill-feeling  by  him." 
The  writer  of  the  letter  answered,  "  Your  overcoming 
yourself  has  overcome  me."  When  the  colony  had  little 
food,  and  Winthrop's  last  bread  was  in  the  oven,  he  di- 
vided the  small 'remainder  of  his  flour  among  the  poor. 
That  very  day  a  ship-load  of  pro- 
visions came.  Winthrop  dressed 
plainly,  drank  little  but  water,  and 
labored  with  his  hands  among  his 
servants.  He  counted  it  the  great 
comfort  of  his  life  that  he  had  a 
"  loving  and  dutiful  son."  This  son 
was  also  named  John.  He  was  a 
man  of  excellent  virtues,  and  was 
the  first  Governor  of  Connecticut. 
None  of  the  colonies  was  set- 
tled more  rapidly  than  Massachu- 
setts. Twenty  thousand  people 
came  between  1630  and  1640,  for 

New  England  was  at  this  time  regarded  as  a  great  refuge 
for  the  Puritans  who  suffered  persecution  in  England. 
The  Puritans  themselves  were  not  free  from  the  intoler- 
ance of  the  times;  and  when  a  new  religious  party,  led 
by  a  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  arose  in  Boston  soon  after  the  set- 
tlement, the  adherents  to  the  new  doctrines  were  banish- 
ed for  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  infant  colony.  About 
the  same  time  there  came  the  war  with  the  Pequot  In- 
dians, about,  which  more  will  be  told  in  another  chapter. 


45 


REV.    JOHN    DAVENPORT. 


THE    COMING   OF    THE   PURITANS. 

Some  of  the  Puritans  in  Massachu- 
setts were  dissatisfied  with  their  lands. 
In   1635   and    1636   these  people,  under 
the  leadership  of  a  great  divine  named 
Thomas  Hooker,  crossed  through  the 
unbroken   woods    to    the   Connecticut 
River  and  settled  the  towns  of  Wind- 
sor, Wethersfield,  and  Hartford.    There 
were  already  trading-posts  on  the  Con- 
necticut River;   but  this  emigration  of 
Hooker  and  his   friends  was  the   real 
beginning  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut.     Another  col-  Connecticut  set- 
ony  was  planted  in  1638  in  the  region  about  New  Haven.   Haven  coionyW 
It  was  made  up  of  Puritans  under  the  lead  of  the  Rev.  8< 
John  Davenport.     In   1665  the  New  Haven  Colony  was 
united  with  Connecticut. 

In  1636  Roger  Williams,  a  minister  at  Salem,  in  Mas-  Roger  wiiuams 

lays  the   founda- 

sachusetts,  was  banished  Irom  that  colony  on  account  of  tions  of  Rhode 
his  peculiar  views  on  several  subjects,  religious  and 
political.  One  of  these  was  the  doctrine  that  every  man 
had  a  right  to  worship  God  without  interference  by  the 
government,  a  very  strange  doctrine  in  that  day.  Will- 
iams went  to  the  head  of  Narragansett  Bay,  and  estab- 
lished a  settlement 
on  the  principle  of 
entire  religious  lib- 
erty. The  disputes 
in  Massachusetts 
resulted  in  other 
settlements  of  ban- 
ished people  on 
Narragansett  Bay, 


HOUSE    OF   THE 


GOVERNOR    OF 


New  Hampshire. 


46  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

which  were  all  at  length  united  in  one  colony,  from 
which  came  the  present  State  of  Rhode  Island. 

The  first  settlement  of  New  Hampshire  was  made 
at  Little  Harbor,  near  Portsmouth,  in  1623.  The 
population  of  New  Hampshire  was  increased  by  those 
who  left  the  Massachusetts  Colony  on  account  of  the 
religious  disputes  and  persecutions  there.  Other  set- 
tlers came  from  England.  But  there  was  much  con- 
fusion and  dispute  about  land-titles  and  about  govern- 
ment, in  consequence  of  which  the  colony  was  set- 
tled slowly.  New  Hampshire  was  several  times  joined 
to  Massachusetts,  but  it  was  finally  separated  from  it 
in  1741. 

As  early  as  1607,  about  the  time  Virginia  was  set- 
tled, a  colony  was  planted  in  Maine.  Like  the  people 
who  settled  Virginia,  those  who  came  to  Maine  in  1607 
were  looking  particularly  for  gold-mines.  The  hard 
winter  and  other  things  discouraged  them,  and  they 
went  back  the  year  after  they  came.  Other  settlers 
planted  themselves  on  the  coast  for  a  time  about  1622 
and  1623,  but  the  first  permanent  settlement  seems  to 
have  been  the  one  made  at  Pemaquid  in  1625.  The 
pioneers  of  Maine  were  not  religious  refugees,  but  men 
interested  in  the  fisheries,  the  trade  with  the  Indians, 
and  the  cutting  of  timber.  They  submitted  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  Massachusetts  in  1652  ;  but  the  "  District  of 
Maine,"  as  it  was  called,  suffered  disorders  from  con- 
flicting governments  set  up  under  different  authorities 
until  it  was  at  length  annexed  to  Massachusetts  by  the 
charter  given  to  that  colony  in  1692.  It  remained  a 
part  of  Massachusetts  .  until  it  was  admitted  to  the 
Union  as  a  separate  State  in  1820. 


THE    COMING    OF    THE    PURITANS. 


47 


The  New  England  colonies 
were  governed  under  charters, 
which  left  them,  in  general,  free 
from  interference  from  England. 
Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, New  Haven,  and  Rhode 
Island  were  the  only  colonies  on 
the  continent  that  had  the  privi- 
lege of  choosing  their  own  gov- 
ernors. In  1684  the  first  Massa- 
chusetts charter  was  taken  away, 
and  after  that  the  governors  of 
Massachusetts  were  appointed  by 
the  king,  but  under  a  new  charter  given  in  1692  the  Government  in 

.  .  ,  '     the  New  Eng- 

colony  enjoyed  the  greater  part  of  its  old  liberties.          land  colonies. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  DUTCH. 


WHILE       Captain       John  captain  John 

Smith  sends  a 

Smith    was    in    Virginia   (see  map  to  Hudson. 
Chapter  IV),  he  had  a  notion 
that  there  was  a  passage  into 
the  Pacific  Ocean  somewhere 
to  the  north  of  the  Virginia 
Colony.     He  may  have  got  this 
opinion  from  some  old  maps,  or 
from     misunderstanding     something 
that   the    Indians    told    him    while   he 


THE    HALF-MOON 
4N    HUDSON    RIVER. 


48 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Hudson  seeks 
new  route  to 
China. 


Hudson  ex- 
plores Hudson 
River. 


was  exploring  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  sent  to  his  old 
friend  Henry  Hudson,  in  England,  a  letter  and  a  map, 
which  showed  a  way  to  go  by  sea  into  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
a  little  to  the  north  of  Virginia. 

Henry  Hudson  was  an  Englishman  already  known  as 
a  bold  explorer.  Of  his  birth  and  early  life  nothing  is 
known,  nor  is  anything  known  of  the  early  voyages  by 
which  he  became  famous.  In  1607,  in  the  employ  of  an 
English  company,  he  undertook  to  find  the  much-desired 
route  to  China  by  sailing  straight  across  the  north  pole. 
He  failed,  of  course,  though  he  got  farther  north  than 
any  other  voyager  had  done.  In  the  next  year,  1608, 
for  the  same  company,  he  tried  to  find  a  passage  to  the 
East  Indies  by  sailing  to  the  northeast.  He  did  not 
succeed,  but  he  sets  down  in  his  journal  that  some  of 
his  company  saw  one  day  a  mermaid,  with  a  body  like 
a  woman  and  a  tail  like  a  porpoise.  Intelligent  people 
believed  in  such  monsters  in  that  day.  In  1609,  soon 
after  getting  John  Smith's  letter  and  map,  Hudson 
went  to  Holland  and  hired  himself  to  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company.  This  company  sent  him  out 
with  a  little  yacht,  called  the  Half-Moon,  manned 
by  twenty  sailors,  to  find  a  passage  to  China,  by 
going  around  the  north  coast  of  Europe — a  pas- 
sage only  discovered  in  our  own  time.  But  Hud- 
son found  the  sea  in  that  direction  so  full  of  ice 
that  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  attempt  to  get 
to  China  in  that  way.  So,  remembering  John  Smith's 
map,  he  set  sail  for  America,  contrary  to  the  orders  of 
his  employers. 

Hudson  sailed  as  far  to  the  south  as  the  entrance  to 
the   Chesapeake,   and    then   explored    the   coast    to    the 


DUTCH    WOMEN    OF    OL 


THE    COMING   OF    THE   DUTCH.  ^ 

northward.     He  went  into  Delaware  Bay,  and  afterward 
came  to  anchor  in  New  York  Harbor.     In  hope  of  find- 
ing a  way  to  the   East  Indies,  he  kept  on  up  the  river, 
which  we  now  call  Hudson  River,  for  eleven  days.     But 
when  he  had  sailed  up  its  lovely  reaches,  and  had  passed 
through  the  bold  highlands  into  the  upper  waters  and 
so  on,  in  view  of  the  Catskills,  nearly  as  far  as  to 
the   place  where  Albany  is  now,  Hudson  became 
satisfied  that  the  road  to  China  did  not  lie  there, 
and  so  he  turned  his  ship  about,  sailed  down  the 
river,  and  returned  to  Europe.     In  the  year  fol- 
lowing he  tried  to  find  a  way  to  China  by  the 
northwest,    but,    while    sailing    in    what   is    now 
called    Hudson    Bay,    part    of     his    crew    rose 
against  him,  and,  putting  Hudson  and  some  of 
his  men  into  an  open    boat,  sailed   away,  leaving  them 
to  perish. 

Though    Hudson   was   an    Englishman,  he  made   his  The  Dutch  estab- 
lish a  fur-trade  on 

voyage  into  Hudson  River  for  the  Dutch,  and  the  very  Hudson  River, 
next  year  the  Dutch  merchants  began  a  fur-trade  with 
the  Indians  on  the  river  that  Hudson  had  discovered. 
In  the  year  that  followed  (1611)  they  explored  the  coast 
northeastward  beyond  Boston  Harbor,  and  to  the  south- 
ward they  sailed  into  the  Delaware  River,  claiming  all 
this  country,  which  was  then  without  any  inhabitants 
but  Indians.  They  called  this  territory  New  Nether- 
land.  Netherland  is  another  name  for  what  we  call 
Holland. 

The  Dutch  had  built  a  trading-post,  called  a  "  fort,"  The  Dutch  plant 
at  what  is  now  Albany,  and  perhaps  others  like  it  else- 
where,  but  they  did  not  send  out  a  colony  of  people  to 
settle  the  country  until  1623.     Then  two  principal  set- 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Planting 
Sweden, 
conquest 
Dutch. 


or  New 
by  the 


TER    STUYVES*NT. 


tlements   were   made,  the   one   at  Al- 
bany,   the    other    at    Wallabout,    now 
part    of    Brooklyn.      But    the    island 
of    Manhattan,   on    which   New    York 
now    stands,    had     been     the     center 
of    the    Dutch  trade,  and  it   soon   be- 
came the  little  capital  of  the  colony. 
The     town    which     grew    about     the 
fort,  that   stood   at   the   south  end  of 
what  is  now    New  York  city,  was  called  by  the 
Dutch  New  Amsterdam,  after    the    principal  city 
of    Holland,  their   own    country.      It    was   a   thrifty 
village,    with    a    considerable    trade    with    the    Indian 
country  in  wampum,  smoked  oysters,  and  beaver-skins. 

The    Dutch    also    had    trading  -  posts    qn_the     Con- 
necticut   River   and    on    the    Delaware    River.      But  on 

the     Connecticut    River... they ,got.    into    trouble     with 

the  English  settlers,  who  claimed  the  whole  of  that 
country ,  and  presently  crowded  the  Dutch  out  of  it. 
On  the  Delaware  River  the  Dutch  had  trouble  with 
a  company  of  Swedes,  who  had  planted  a  colony 
there  in  1638.  This  colony  the  Swedes  called  New 
Sweden,  just  as  the  Dutch  called  theirs  New  Neth- 
erland,  and  as  the  English  called  their  northern  col- 
onies New  England,  while  the  French  named  their 
settlements  in  Canada  New  France.  After  a  great 
deal  of  quarreling  between  the  Swedes  and  Dutch, 
the  Dutch  governor,  ^eter_Stu_yxe§ant,  in  1655,  mus- 
tered  a  little  fleeJL-adth -six -on-seven  hundred  men, 
and,  sailing  to  the  Delaware  River,  captured  New 
Sweden,  and  it  became  a  part  of  New  Nether- 
land. 


THE    COMING    OF    THE   DUTCH. 


But  the  English  at  this  time  claimed  that  all  the  ter-  The  Engi 
ritory  between  Virginia  and  New  England  belonged  to  enand. 
England.     They  said  that  all  that  coast  had  been  discov- 
ered by  Cabot  for  Henry_YH-  more  than  a^century  and 
a  half  before.     In   1664,  in  time  of   peace,  four  English 
ships  appeared  in  the  harbor  of   New  Amsterdam  and 
demanded   its  surrender.      Stout  old    Peter  Stuyvesant, 
the  lame  governor  who  had  ruled  in 
the    Dutch     colonies     for 
many  years,   resolved 
to  fight.     But  the 
city  was  weak 


sh  con- 
Neth- 


8TREET    IN 
NEW    AMSTERC 


*"*•  -      and   without 
fortifications,  and 
the    people,  seeing   the 

uselessness  of  contending  against  the  ships,  persuaded 
Stuyvesant  to  surrender.  The  name  New  Amsterdam 
was  immediately  changed  to  Mew  York,  the  whole  prov- 
ince having  been  granted  to  the  Duke  of  York. 

At   the  time  of   the  surrender  New   York  city   had  New  Amsterdam 

becomes  New 

but  fifteen  hundred  people,  most  of  them  speaking  the  York. 
Dutch  language.     To-day  there  are  nearly  a  thousand 


52 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


times  as  many  people  in  the  city.  Many  thousands  of 
the  inhabitants  of  New  York  and  many  in  other  States 
have  descended  from  the  first.  Dutch  colonists  and  bear 
the  old  Dutch  names.  The  Dutch  settlers  were  gener- 
ally mdustrious,  frugal,  and  religious. 


NEW    YORK    IN    THE    DUTCH    PERIOD. 


ST    LORD    BALTIMORE. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  MARYLAND  AND  THE  CAROLINAS. 

BY  the  second  charter  given  for  planting  the 
"  First  Colony  of  Virginia,"  as  it  was  called,  its  breadth 
was  cut  clown  to  four  hundred  miles  along  the  sea- 
coast.  Virginia  had  formerly  included  all  that  the 
English  claimed  in  America.  Part  of  the  four  hun- 
dred miles  was  occupied  by  the  Dutch  in  New  Jersey 
and  Delaware.  And  the  territojcy_  pf ..  Virginia  was, 
at  length,  further  cut  down  by  the  taking  of 
another  part  of  it  to  form  Maryland  for  Lord 
Baltimore. 

George  Calvert,  afterward  Lord  Baltimore,  was 
a  Secretary  of  State  to  James  I.  In  1621  he  plant- 
ed a  colony  in  Newfoundland,  which  he  called  Ava- 


MARYLAND   AND    THE    CAROLINAS. 


53 


Ion.      In    1627    he    went   to   his   colony    in    Newfound- 
land, but  the   climate   was  so  cold   that  in    1629  he 
went    to    Virginia.      Before    going    to    Virginia    he 
wrote  to  the  king,  begging   for   territory  to   plant   a 
colony  there.      Lord    Baltimore   had    become  a  Ro- 
man Catholic  at  a  time  when  there  were  severe 
laws  in   England  against  Catholics.      Even  in 
the  colonies  Catholics  were  not  allowed  ;   and 
the   Virginians    took    advantage   of    the    orders 
given  them  from  England  to  insist  that  Balti- 
more   must    take    an    oath    declaring    that    the 
king  was  the   head  of   the  Church.      As  a  Catholic  he  Lord  Baltimore's 
could  not  do  this,  and   the  Virginians   bade  him  leave 
the  colony. 

Lord    Baltimore   returned   to   England,  and   got  the  Maryland  grant- 
king,  Charles   I,  to  give  him  a  slice  of  Virginia  north  timore. 
of    the    Potomac.      This    country    King   Charles   named 
Maryland,  in   honor  of  the  queen,  his  wife.      For   this 
Baltimore   was  to  pay  to  the  king   two    Indian   arrows 
every   year   in    recognition    of    the    king's    sovereignty. 
But,  before    Lord    Baltimore   could   send  out  a  colony, 
he  died. 

The  territory  was  then  granted  to  Lord  Baltimore's  Maryland  piant- 

ed  by  the  second 

son,   the    second    Lord    Baltimore.      He    was    given    all  Lord  Baltimore. 
the    powers   of    a    monarch.     The    first 
settlers    were    sent    out    in     1633,    and 
reached  Maryland  in  1634.     This  com- 
pany was  composed  of  twenty  gentle- 
men and  three  hundred   laboring-men, 
and   the   first    governor  was    Leonard 
Calvert,  the  second   Lord    Baltimore's 
brother.     Roman  Catholic  priests  were 


SECOND    LORD    BALTIMORE. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Early  years   of 
Maryland. 


with  them, 
and  at  their 
landing  they  set 
up  a  cross.  But  there 
were  also  a  good  many  Prot- 
estants in  the  party,  and  Balti- 
more had  resolved  from  the  beginning  that  there  should 
be  no  persecution  of  any  Christians  on  account  of  re- 
ligion in  his  new  province.  In  almost  every  country 
in  the  world  at  that  time  the  established  religion,  of 
whatever  sort  it  might  be,  was  enforced  by  law. 

The  colonists  came  in  two  ships  called  the  Ark  and 
the  Dove ;  they  settled  first  at  a  place  which  they  called 
St.  Mary's,  on  the  St.  Mary's  River,  not  far  from  the 
Potomac.  They  bought  from  the  Indians  living  on  the 
place  their  village  and  corn-ground,  and  for  the  rest  of 
that  season  they  lived  in  half  of  the  village  with  the  In- 


55 


MARYLAND   AND    THE    CAROLINAS. 

dians.  The  colony  had  many  troubles 
and  several  little  civil  wars  in  its  early 
years.  These  mostly  grew  out  of  the 
religious  differences  of  the  people.  But 
after  a  while  Maryland  prospered  and 
grew  rich  by  raising  tobacco.  The 
money  of  Maryland  as  of  Virginia  was 
tobacco,  and  the  two  colonies  were 
much  alike  in  traits  of  their  business  and  social  life. 

After  the  settlement  of   New  England  by   Puritans^  NO  new  colonies 

,    ,  ,  .          ,   ,         y-<      i       i  •  i    ^  f°r  thirty' years. 

and  Maryland  by  Catholics,  there  was  a  period  of  about 
thirty  years  in  which  no  new  colonies  were  planted. 
In  this  period  occurred  the  Great  Rebellion  in  England, 
in  which  Charles  I  was  beheaded,  and  his  son  Charles  II 
was  kept  out  of  England  by  the  Puritans  under  Oliver 
Cromwell.  But,  after  Cromwell's  death,  Charles  II  was 
brought  back  to  the  throne  of  England  in  i66a_JIliis 
is  known  as  the  Restoration. 

After   the   Restoration   there  was   a  new  interest  in  Carolina  granted 

/    f />^  f  '  to  eight  proprie- 

colonies.     New  York  was  taken   from   the   Dutch,  and  tors, 
new    colonies   were   planned.      King   Charles    II    was   a 
very  thoughtless,  self-indulgent  monarch,  who_freely 
granted  great_tracla  -QLJamL  in  America  to  several 
of  his  favorites.     To  some  of  his  courtiers  he  gave, 
in  1663,  a  large  territory  cut  off  from  Virginia  on 
the  south,  which  had  been  known  beforejthis  Jime 
as   Carolana,.  but   was   now   called    Carolina,   from 
Carolus,  the   Latin   form   of   King    Charles's   name. 
This    territory    included    what    we    call    North    and 
South  Carolina.     The  eight  noblemen  and  gentlemen 
tQ  whom  this  territory  was  granted  were  called  "The 
Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina." 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


HUGUENOT    MERCHAN 


The  Carolina 
Constitution. 


Beginning  of  set-         In  the  northeastern  corner  of   this  territory,  on  the 

tlements  in  North 

Carolina  in  i653.  Chowan  River,  a  settlement  had  been  made  by  people 
from  Virginia,  under  the  lead  of  a  minister  named  Roger 
Green,  in  1653.  This  was  ten  years  before  the  coun- 
try was  granted  to  these  lords  proprietors,  and  the  land 
belonged  to  Virginia  when  they  settled  there.  A  set- 
tlement was  made  at  Port  Royal,  in  South  Carolina,  in 
1670,  but  the  people  afterward  moved  to  where  the  city 
of  Charleston  now  stands.  The  foundation  of  this  city 
was  laid  in  1680.  A  large  number  of  Huguenots,  or 
French  Protestants,  settled  in  South  Carolina  about 
this  time. 

As  America  was  a  new  country,  people  who  had 
projects  of  any  kind  were  always  for  trying  them  in 
some  American  colony.  The  lords  proprietors  of  Caro- 
lina got  up  what  they  thought  a  beautiful  system  of  gov- 
ernment. They  proposed  to  have  Carolina  chiefly  ruled 
by  noblemen,  who  were  to  be  divided  into  three  orders, 
one  above  another.  These  noblemen  were  to  be  called 
palatines,  landgraves,  and  caciques.  They  attached  to 
this  constitution  a  plan  for  laying  off  their  territory  into 
large  square  tracts  of  several  thousand  acres  each.  These 
were  to  be  the  property  of  their  nobility  and  the  pro- 
prietors ;  the  people  were  to  be  tenants  paying  rent. 
The  men  who  adopted  this  plan  had  never  seen  Amer- 
ica. They  knew  nothing  of  the  habits  and  necessities 
of  settlers  in  a  new  country.  Constitutions  can  not 
be  made  to  order  in  this  fashion  ;  they  must  grow  out 
of_the_  circumstances  and  character  of  the  people.  The 
clumsy  arrangements  of  the  proprietors  all  failed  when 
they  tried  to  apply  them.  Their  degrees  of  nobility  and 
the  officers  with  titles  were  of  no  use  in  the  woods  of 


MARYLAND   AND    THE    CAROLINAS. 


57 


America  ;  their  people  did  not  care  to  rent 
land  when  so  much  lay  vacant,  and  the 
machinery  of  their  constitution  was  ridicu- 
lous when  their  agents  tried  to  put  it  in 
motion. 

The  Carolina  colonies  grew  slowly 
at    first.      The    introduction    of     rice- 
culture  in    1696  proved  .of   great  ^ad- 
vantage to  South  Carolina,  which  im- 
mediately   became    prosperous.      The     North    Carolina  Progress  of  the 
people    took    to    raising    large    herds    of    cattle    which  Chang 
roamed   in   the    woods.      This   colony    was   involved   in  cl 
many  local  dissensions  and  petty  civil  wars.     The  Caro- 
lina  proprietors,  who  had   the  appointment  of    govern- 
ors to  both  colonies,  conducted  their  affairs  in  a  selfish 
spirit.     In    1719   the  South    Carolina   people  rose  in  re- 
bellion, marched  into  Charleston,  and  threw  off  the  yoke 
of  the  lords  proprietors.      In   1729  the  king  bought  out 
the  interest  of  all  the  proprietors  except  one,  and  after 
that  period  both   North  and   South  Carolina  were  gov- 
erned  as   royal  colonies,  the  governors  receiving  their 
appointment  from  the  king,  while  the  laws  were  made 
by  a   General   Assembly  elected    by  the   people   and  a 
Council  appointed  by  the  king. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


East  and  West 
Jersey. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE    COMING    OF    THE    QUAKERS    AND    OTHERS    TO    THE 
JERSEYS    AND    PENNSYLVANIA. 

WE  have  seen  that  the  Dutch  territory  of  New 
Netherland  extended  at  first  to  the  Connecticut  River 
on  the  east  and  to  the  Delaware  River  on  the  south. 
This  included  what  we  now  know  as  New  Jersey,  in 
which  numbers  of  Dutch  people  had  settled  before 
the  English  took  possession  of  New  Netherland  in 
1664.  Charles  II,  with  his  accustomed  lavishness,  gave 
away  New  Netherland  to  his  brother  the  Duke  of 
York  before  it  was  conquered.  This  Duke  of  York 
afterward  became  King  of  England,  as  James  II.  James 
kept  the  portion  of  it  that  is  now  called  New  York, 
which  name  it  took  from  his  own  title.  The  part 
now  called  New  Jersey  he  gave  to  Lord  John  Berke- 
ley and  Sir  George  Carteret,  who  after  a  few  years 
sold  their  interest  to  others.  In  1674  the  proprietors 
of  New  Jersey  divided  it  into  the  colonies  of  East  and 
West  Jersey. 

It  was  a  time  of  religious  persecution.  Many  people 
emigrated  to  the  colonies  in  order  to  get  a  chance  to 
be  religious  in  their  own  way,  and  the  proprietors  of 
the  New  Jersey  colonies  promised  to  all  who  came  lib- 
erty to  worship  in  the  way  of  their  choice.  The  people 
of  Scotland,  who  were  Presbyterians,  suffered  horribly 
from  persecutions  after  the  restoration  of  Charles  II, 
and  East  Jersey  received  many  Scotch  emigrants,  driven 
out  of  their  own  country  by  the  cruelty  of  the  gov- 


THE    COMING   OF    THE    QUAKERS. 


59 


ernment.     Some  people  from  New  England  also  moved  scotch  people 

come  to  New 

into  East  Jersey.  jersey. 

The  religious  sect  most  severely  persecuted  in  Eng- 
land after  the  restoration  of  the  king  was  the  Soci- 
ety of  Friends,  whose  members  are  sometimes  called 
Quakers.  The  conscientious  refusal  of  the  Friends  to  Quakers  come  to 

East  and  West 

take  oaths  in  courts  of.  law,  their  unwillingness  to  serve  jersey, 
as  soldiers,  and  their  refusal  to  take  off  their  hats  to 
people  in  authority,  were  deemed  verv  serious  offenses 
in  that  day.  They  were  not  only  whipped,  fined,  and 
imprisoned  in  England,  but  also  in  Virginia,  while  in 
Massachusetts  they  were  whipped  and  banished,  and 
some  of  them  were 
put  to  death  for  re- 
turning to  the  col- 
ony after  banish- 
ment. Some  of  the 
people  of  this  perse- 
cuted society  came 
to  East  Jersey,  but 
more  to  West  Jer- 
sey, which  had  been 
bought  by  certain 
leading  Friends. 

Among  those 
who  had  to  do  with 
the  management  of 

the  West  Jersey  colony  was  a  famous  Quaker  preacher 
named  William  Penn.  He  was  born  in  London  in  1644, 
and  was  son  to  Admiral  William  Penn,  who  gained  re- 
nown for  the  part  he  took  in  the  English  wars  with  the 
Dutch.  The  younger  Penn  first  came  under  the  in- 


WILLIAM    PENN. 


6o 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


fluence  of  the  Friends,  or  Quakers,  while  he  was  a  stu- 
dent at  Oxford,  and  he  was  expelled  from  the  university, 
with  others,  for  the  resistance  they  made  to  certain  re- 
ligious ceremonies  introduced  at  that  time.  His  father 
sent  him  to  Paris,  and  he  became  an  accomplished  man 
of  the  world.  But  he  afterward  became  a  Friend,  which 
so  enraged  the  old  admiral  that  he  turned  his  son 
out  of  the  house.  It  is  pleasant  to  know,  however,  that 
in  later  years  the  father  and  son  became  reconciled. 
William  Penn  was  repeatedly  imprisoned  for  his  re- 
ligious views,  but  he  boldly  asserted  in  the  English 
courts  the  great  principle  of  religious  liberty.  He 
traveled  into  Wales,  Ireland,  Holland,  and  Germany,  in 
his  preaching  journeys,  and  many  of  his  acquaintances 
in  those  countries  afterward  came  to  Pennsylvania. 
Though  Penn  would  never  take  off  his  hat  in  the 
presence  of  the  king,  he  had  considerable  influence  at 
court,  which  he  used  to  lessen  the  sufferings  of  the 
Quakers  and  others. 

Pennsylvania  It    was    probably    while    Penn    was    engaged    in    the 

wiiiiam  Penn.  affairs  of  West  Jersey  that  he  observed  that  the  terri- 
tory on  the  other  side  of  the  Delaware  was  not  oc- 
cupied except  by  a  few  Swedes,  who  had  come  over 
to  the  old  colony  of  New  Sweden  before  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant  conquered  it  for  the  Dutch.  William  Penn  had 
a  claim  against  the  King  of  England  for  a  consider- 
able sum  of  money  due  to  his  father.  The  king  was 
in  debt,  and  found  it  hard  to  pay  what  he  owed. 
Penn,  therefore,  persuaded  Charles  II  to  settle  the 
debt  by  granting  him  a  territory  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river  Delaware.  This  new  territory  the  king  called 
Pennsylvania,  which  means  something  like  Penn's  For- 


THE    COMING   OF    THE    QUAKERS.  5r 

«st.  The  name  was  given  in  honor  of  Penn's  father, 
the  admiral. 

What  is   now  the  State    of    Delaware   was  also   put  Delaware  deii 

i          T-»  »  i  i         T-V     i  r    T7-        i  T->  ered  to  Penn. 

under  Penn  s  government  by  the  Duke  of  York.  Every- 
thing was  done  with  ceremony  in  those  days.  When 
Penn  got  to  New 
Castle,  in  Dela- 
ware, its  govern- 
ment was  trans- 
ferred to  him 
in  the  following 
way  :  The  key  to 
the  fort  at  New 
Castle  was  de- 
livered to  him. 
With  this  he 
locked  himself  into  the  fort  and  then  let  himself  out, 
in  sign  that  the  government  was  his.  To  show  that 
the  land  with  the  trees  on  it  belonged  to  him,  a  piece 
of  sod  with  a  twig  in  it  was  given  to  him.  Then  a 
porringer  filled  with  water  from  the  river  was  put  into 
his  hands,  that  he  might  be  lord  of  the  rivers  as  well 
as  of  the  land. 

Penn    sent    his    first    emigrants    to    Pennsylvania    in   Penn  settiss 

Pennsylvania 

1681.  Philadelphia,  where  they  landed,  was  yet  a 
woods,  and  the  people  had  to  dig  holes  in  the  river- 
banks  to  live  in  through  the  winter.  Nearly  thirty  ves- 
sels came  to  the  new  colony  during  the  first  year. 

Although    Pennsylvania  was  the   last   colony  settled   RaPid  growth  of 

J  Pennsylvania. 

except  Georgia,  it  soon  became  one  of  the  most  popu- 
lous and  one  of  the  richest.  Before  the  Revolution, 
Philadelphia  had  become  the  largest  town  in  the  thir- 


62 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  two  Je 
united. 


teen  colonies.  This  was  chiefly  owing  to  the  very  free 
government  that  William  Pehn  founded  in  his  colony. 
Not  only  English,  but  Welsh  and  Irish  people,  and 
many  thousands  of  industrious  Germans,  came  to  Penn- 
sylvania. People  were  also  attracted  by  the  care  that 
Penn  took  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  the  In- 
dians, and  to  satisfy  them  for  their  lands.  Another 
thing  which  drew  people  both  to  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey  was  the  fact  that  the  land  was 
not  taken  up  in  large  bodies,  as  it  was  in 
New  York  and  Virginia,  for  instance.  In 
Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  the  poor  man 
could  get  a  farm  of  his  own. 

By  the  sale  and  division  of  shares,  the  pro- 
prietaries of  both  East  and  West  Jersey  be- 
came too  numerous  to  manage  their  govern- 
ments well,  and  at  length  disorders  arose  which 
they  were  not  able  to  suppress.  In  1702  the  govern- 
ment  of  both  provinces  was  transferred  to  Queen  Anne, 
and  East  and  West  Jersey  were  again  united  into  the 
one  province  of  New  Jersey.  But  even  to  this  day,  in 
common  speech,  one  sometimes  hears  the  State  of  New 
Jersey  spoken  of  as  "  The  Jerseys "  by  people  who  do 
not  know  that  two  hundred  years  ago  there  were  two 
colonies  of  that  name.  Pennsylvania  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  Penn  family,  who  appointed  its  governors, 
till  the  American  Revolution. 


TREATY-BELT 


THE    SETTLEMENT   OF   GEORGIA. 


iENERAL   OGLETHORPE. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    SETTLEMENT   OF  GEORGIA,    AND   THE    COMING   OF 
THE    GERMANS,    IRISH,    AND    FRENCH. 

PENN'S  settlement  at    Philadelphia  was  made,  as 
we  have  seen,  in  1681.     This  was  seventy-four  years 
after  the  settlement  of  Jamestown.     In  seventy-four 
years,  which  is  not  a  very  long  lifetime,  all  the  colonies 
were   begun   except  one.      But   after  the   settlement   of  Georgia  pro- 
Pennsylvania  there  passed  fifty-one  years   more   before 
another  colony  was  begun.     As  the  borders  of  Carolina 
were  supposed  to  reach  to  the  Spanish  territory  in  Flor- 
ida, and  as  New  England  touched  the  French  territory  in 
Canada,  there  appeared  to  be  no  room  for  any  more  colo- 
nies, until  it  was  suggested  that  a  slice  might  be  taken     f 
off  the  south  side  of  South  Carolina,  and  a  new  colony  be 
wedged  in  between  Carolina  and  the  Spanish  colony  in 
Florida.     Indeed,  long  before  Georgia  as  a  separate  col- 
ony was  thought  of,  some  benevolent  people 
had  the  notion  of  settling  "  the  south  parts  of 
Carolina,"  as  they  called  what  was  afterward 
named  Georgia,  with  distressed  English  peo- 
ple.     But  the  project  did  not  come  to  any- 
thing until  it  was  taken  up  by 
General    Oglethorpe,    a    most 
energetic  and  benevolent  man. 

James  Edward  Oglethorpe 
was  born  in  London  in  1688. 
He  was  in  the  war  of  the 
Austrians  against  the  Turks 


64 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


in  1716,  and  held  a  command  under  Prince  Eugene 
in  the  brilliant  and  desperate  campaign  of  1717,  which 
ended  in  the  surrender  of  Belgrade.  He  returned  to 
England  in  1722,  and  served  in  Parliament  for  thirty- 
two  years  afterward.  He  was  opposed  to  the  cruel 
system  of  imprisoning  poor  debtors  which  then  pre- 
vailed, and  he  did  much  to  improve  the  condition  of 
this  unhappy  class.  He  was  also  interested  in  the  efforts 
then  made  to  convert  the  black  slaves  in  the  colonies 
to  Christianity. 

ogiethorpe's  in  settling  Georgia,  the  views  of  Oglethorpe  and  his 

associates  were  most  benevolent.  There  had  been  much 
wild  speculation  in  England,  by  which  multitudes  of 
people  were  ruined.  Oglethorpe  wished  to  provide  a 
home  for  these,  where  they  might  in  a  new  country 
hope  to  secure  a  competency.  There  was  at  this  time 
much  sympathy  in  England  for  the  Protestants,  who 
were  suffering  persecution  in  several  of  the  countries 
on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  Oglethorpe  hoped  to 
make  the  new  colony  a  refuge  for  these.  He  also  pro- 
posed to  make  his  colony  a  military  barrier  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  Spaniards  in  Florida,  who  laid 
claim  to  all  of  South  Carolina.  In  order  that  his  peo- 
ple might  not  live  in  idleness,  he  did  not  permit  any 
slaves  to  be  bought ;  to  make  them  temperate,  he  for- 
bade the  importation  of  rum.  Georgia  was  thus  for  a 
while  the  only  non-slaveholding  colony,  and  the  only 
place  in  Europe  or  America  in  which  the  sale  of  liquors 
was  prohibited. 

visionary  ex-  Like  many  other  philanthropists,  Osflethorpe  tried  to 

periments. 

do  more  than  was  possible.  He  thought  that,  by  rais- 
ing silk-worms  in  Georgia,  he  might  save  to  the  Eng- 


THE    SETTLEMENT   OF   GEORGIA. 


lish  the  money  they  paid  to  the  Italians  for  silk.  He 
also  tried  to  raise  many  valuable  tropical  plants.  There 
was  hardly  any  good  thing  which  needed  doing  that 


GEORGIA    ROAD. 


was  not  undertaken  by  the 
new  colony.     Such  an  enterprise        j0»A 
appealed    strongly   to   the    benevo- 
lent, and  many  thousands  of  pounds 
were   given  to    help  on  this   good  work.     Parlia- 
ment also  voted  a  donation  to  Georgia.     No  one 
was  allowed  to  make  any  profit  out  of  the  new  col- 
ony, on  the  seal  of  which  was  a  device  of  silk-worms 
spinning,  with  a  motto  in  Latin   which  meant,  "  Not 
for  themselves,  but  for  others  "  (Non  sibi  sed  a/it's). 

In  1732  Oglethorpe  took  out  his  first  company  of 
a  hundred  and  sixteen  people,  with  whom  he  began 
the  town  of  Savannah.  Many  others  were  added, 
among  whom  were  a  regiment  of  Scotch  Highlanders.  HIGHLAND  REGIMENT. 


66 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Oglethorpe's 
plans  cause  dis- 
satisfaction. 


First  settlement  some  Hebrews,  and  some  persecuted  Germans.  The 
vanna°hgia  general  bore  hardship  with  the  rest,  and  by  brilliant 

management  defeated  the  Spaniards  when  they  attacked 
his  colony. 

But  the  people  after  a  while  became  dissatisfied. 
They  were  not  allowed  any  hand  in  making  their  own 
laws.  No  man,  unless  he  brought  white  servants,  was 
permitted  to  own  more  than  fifty  acres  of  land,  and 
this  land  he  could  not  sell  or  rent  or  divide  among 
his  children.  His  oldest  son  took  it  at  his  death  ;  if 
he  had  no  son,  it  went  back  to  the  trustees  of  the  col- 
ony. It  was  thought  that  by  this  means  the  evils  of 
wealth  and  poverty  would  be  prevented.  But,  like  all 
such  attempts,  this  proved  a  failure,  because  the  people 
felt  that  such  laws  interfered  with  their  just  liberties, 
and  took  away  all  inducements  to  the  improvement  of 
their  property. 

The  complaints  of  the  settlers  became  very  bitter,  and 
many  of  them  left  the  colony.  In  1752,  twenty  years 
after  the  beginning  of  the  settlement,  the  trustees  sur- 
rendered the  government  to  the  king.  After  that,  Geor- 
gia was  not  different  from  the  other  colonies.  One 
might  own  as  much  land  as  one  could  get,  and  sell  or 
lease  it  at  one's  pleasure.  Rum  also  came  in,  which  cer- 
tainly was  no  advantage.  Slaves  were  bought,  and  rice 
and  indigo  plantations,  like  those  of  South  Carolina,  were 
established.  Silk-raising  prospered  so  long  as  the  Brit- 
ish government  paid  bounties  on  all  that  was  produced. 
When  these  were  withdrawn,  it  was  no  longer  profit- 
able. 

The  Germans  that  came  to  Georgia  were  not  by  any 
means  the  first  of  these  industrious  people  in  the  English 


GERU 
COUNTR 
OF  THAT 


The  government 
transferred  to 
the  king. 


COUNTRY    WOMAN 
OF   THAT   TIME. 


The  coming  of 
the  Germans. 


THE    SETTLEMENT   OF   GEORGIA. 


colonies  in  America.     There  were   many  little   sects   in 
Germany  at  that  time,  and  these  suffered  much  persecu- 
tion, from   which  they  were  glad  to  flee.     The  laws  of 
Pennsylvania  promised  them  freedom.     Some  of  these 
sects  were  opposed  to  war,  and  their  members  emi- 
grated to   Penn's  colony,   where  military  service  was 
not   required,    because  the  Society  of  Friends  was   also 
opposed  to  war.     The   tide   of    German   emigration  be- 
came greater  and  greater  after  this;  thousands  of  Ger- 
mans  coming   to    Pennsylvania   to   escape    the   miseries 
brought   on   them  by  persecution   and   the  wars  which 
desolated  their  country. 

In  three  years,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  there 
came  to  England  thirteen  thousand  poor  people  from 
that  part  of  Germany  called  the  Palatinate.  These  peo- 
ple were  called  Palatines,  and  they  were  seeking  to  be 
sent  to  America,  their  country  having  been  ruined  by 
the  European  wars.  Some  of  these  were  dispatched  to 
Virginia,  some  to  the  Carolinas,  and  some  to  Maryland. 
About  four  thousand  were  sent  to  New  York  to  make 
tar  and  pitch.  So  wretchedly  were  these  cared  for  that 
seventeen  hundred  of  the  four  thousand  died  at  sea  or 
soon  after  landing.  The  rest  were  settled  on  the  Hud- 
son River,  where  the  descendants  of  some  of  them  are 
to-day.  Some  went  to  the  wilderness  farther  west.  They 
were  badly  treated  in  New  York,  and  only  allowed  ten 
acres  of  land  apiece.  Three  hundred  of  them,  hearing 
that  Germans  were  well  received  in  Pennsylvania,  made 
a  bold  push  through  the  backwoods  of  New  York,  down 
the  rivers  that  flowed  into  Pennsylvania.  From  that 
time  Germans  avoided  New  York,  and  thronged  more 
than  ever  into  Pennsylvania. 


The  a 
the  Pi 
mans. 


•rival  of 
.latine  Ger- 


68 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Irish  immigrants 
to  the  colonies. 


FRENCH    COUNTRY 
OF    THAT    DAY. 


nigrati 
juthwa 


The  Irish  that  came  before  the  Revolution  were 
mostly  Presbyterians  in  belief.  They  had  been  perse- 
cuted in  order  to  force  them  into  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. Some  of  them  came  to  New  England  about  1718, 
introducing  there  the  spinning  of  flax  and  the  planting 
of  potatoes.  There  was  not  a  colony  to  which  they 
did  not  go ;  but  the  greatest  tide  of  Irish  immigra- 
tion poured  into  Pennsylvania.  Five  thousand  Irish 
immigrants  arrived  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  the 
year  1729.  Many  of  the  Irish  were  bold  and  enter- 
prising pioneers,  opening  the  way  into  unknown  re- 
gions, and  showing  great  courage  in  fighting  with  the 
Indians. 

Pennsylvania  filled  up  with  great  rapidity,  and, 
when  the  later  Indian  wars  laid  waste  its  frontiers, 
many  of  the  German  and  Irish  settlers  moved  south- 
ward into  the  beautiful  and  fertile  mountain-valleys  of 
Virginia.  Then,  following  the  lines  of  open  prairies 
and  Indian  trails  east  of  the  mountains,  this  stream  of 
people  went  onward  into  the  Carolinas.  The  Irish,  in- 
deed, and  their  children  born  in  America,  pushed  south- 
ward until  they  had  filled  whole  counties  in  North  and 
South  Carolina.  They  were  also  among  the  first  to 
move  westward  into  the  Alleghanies,  and  at  length  they 
pushed  over  into  the  Western  country. 

The  Huguenots,  or  French  Protestants,  rendered  un- 
happy by  the  civil  wars  and  persecutions  of  the  time, 
came  to  the  colonies  in  large  numbers.  They  settled  in 
almost  every  colony,  but  more  largely  in  South  Carolina 
than  elsewhere. 

Notwithstanding  the  multitudes  of  Germans,  Irish, 
French,  and  Scotch  that  came  to  the  colonies,  those  who 


THE    SETTLEMENT   OF   GEORGIA. 


69 


came   from   England   formed  much  the  largest   part   of  The  English  the 

1  T>u          T1         i  •    L      i  -11  most  numerous. 

every  colony.  1  he  English  language  prevailed  over 
every  other.  But,  until  after  the  Revolution,  some  de- 
scendants of  the  Dutch  in  New  York  still  spoke  the 
language  of  their  ancestors,  and  a  few  old  people  yet  use 
it.  In  Pennsylvania,  where  the  Germans  filled  wide  re- 
gions of  country,  their  speech  was  preserved  through 
the  whole  colonial  period.  Bibles  and  other  books  were 
printed  in  German  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  language  is 
still  used  in  many  parts  of  that  State. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

HOW    THE    INDIANS    LIVED. 

BEFORE  the  white  people  settled  America  it  was  in-  The  Indians, 
habited  by  many  tribes  of  the  people   we  call  Indians. 
They  were  called   Indians  because  the  first  discoverers 
believed  America  to  be  a  part  of   India.     The   Indian 
is   of    a   brown   or   copper   color,   with   black 
eyes  and  straight  hair. 

In  what  is   now  the    United    States  the  cloth- 
ing of  the   Indians  was  mostly  made  of  deer-skin. 
A  whole  deer-skin  was   thrown   about   the   shoul- 
ders, a  strip  of  the  same  material  was  hung  about 
the   loins,   and    the   leggins   worn    in   winter   were 
also    of    deer-skin.      Some  of    the    Southern    Indians 
wore  mantles  woven  from  the  fiber  of  a  plant  which 
now  grows  in  gardens  under  the  name  of   "  Spanish 
bayonet,"   but   which    in   that   day    was    called    "  silk- 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  dress  of  the 
Indians. 


Indian  adorn- 
ments. 


Wampum. 


grass."  The  women  wore  deer-skin  aprons.  Women 
of  the  Northern  tribes  wore  mantles  of  beaver-skins. 
Shoes,  or  moccasins,  were  of  deer-skin,  sometimes  em- 
broidered with  porcupine-quills  or  shell  beads. 

The    Indian    warriors    were    fond    of    staining    their 
faces  in  stripes,  spots,  and  splashes  of  red,  yellow,  and 
blue.     Some  of  the  Virginia  Indians  wore  bears' 
or  hawks'  claws,  and  even  living   snakes,  dan- 
gling from  their  ears  ;    and  sometimes,  also,  the 
savage   Indian   warrior  would   wear  the  dried 
hand  of   his  dead  enemy  in  the  same  way. 
The  use  of  such  ugly  adornment  was  to 
make    the    savages    seem    as    fierce    and 
terrible  as  possible. 

Both  men  and  women  decorated 
themselves  with  beads,  which  they  made 
from  sea -shells.  These  were  called 
"  wampum,"  and  were  worn  in  strings, 
or  wrought  into  belts,  necklaces,  and  brace- 
lets. As  the  Indians  had  no  iron,  the  making 
of  wampum  was  very  laborious.  A  bit  of  stone 
worked  down  to  the  size  of  a  sixpenny  nail, 
with  a  large  head,  was  made  fast  to  a  reed  or 
cane.  Then  the  Indian  workman,  hav- 
ing chipped  off  a  piece  of  the  shell  of 
F  the  hard  clam,  or  a  piece  of  the  inside 
of  a  conch-shell,  and  worked  it  down 
to  the  right  size,  bored  a  hole  in  it  by  resting  the  point 
of  the  drill  against  the  bit  of  shell  held  in  his  hand, 
rolling  over  and  over  the  other  end  of  the  reed  against 
his  thigh.  This  slow  work  being  necessary  to  make  it, 
wampum  was  highly  valued.  As  soon  as  the  white  men 


MEDICINE-MAN,    WITH    A    MANTLE 
SILK-GRASS.       DRAWN    IN    1585. 


HOW    THE    INDIANS  LIVED. 


came,  the  Indians  used  iron  nails  instead  of  stone  drills. 


After  a  while  the  Dutch  settlers  in  New 
Albany    set    up    little    lathes    run    with 
treadles,  by  means  of  which  they  could 
make  wampum-beads  so  fast  that  the 
Indians   gave   it   up.     A   large 
part  of  the  difference  between 
a  civilized  and  a  bar- 
barous people 
lies    in     the 
quicker 


Jersey  and  at 


and  easier  ways 
of  doing  things 
among  those  who  have 
the  arts  of  civilization. 
Wampum-belts  were  sent  from 
tribe  to  tribe  with  solemn 
messages.  They  were  used  in  making 
peace  and  in  appealing  to  allied  nations  to  join  in  a  war. 
Before  the  white  men  came,  wampum,  being  very  costly 
in  human  labor,  served  the  purpose  of  money  among 
the  savages.  With  wampum  they  carried  on  a  trade 
from  tribe  to  tribe.  The  Indians  of  the  interior  sold  the 
products  of  their  country  to  the  coast  tribes,  who  were 
wampum-makers.  Ornaments  made  of  copper  dug  out 
of  the  ground  in  the  Lake  Superior  region  were 
found  in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  having 
passed  from  tribe  to  tribe  in  the  way  of  trade. 

When  white  people  opened  a  trade  with 
the   Indians,  wampum   was   used    for  small 
change  and  beaver-skins  for  large  money. 


PLAYING    THE 
DEER   AND 


GAME   OF 
WOLF. 


WEAVING    A    BELT. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


STRINGS   OF 
WAMPUM. 


The  purple  wampum  was  more  valuable  than  the  white. 
As  there  were  few  small  coins  in  this  country,  wampum 
passed  for  money  among-  the  white  people,  and  was  for 
a  long  time  almost  the  only  small  change  in  New  York 
and  elsewhere.  It  seems  curious  to  think  that,  when 
the  plate  was  passed  in  church,  nothing  was  put  upon 
it  but  shell  beads. 

Indian  houses,  or  wigwams,  were  mere  tents  of  bark 
or  of  mats,  supported  by  poles.  Among  the  Indians 
of  the  Western  prairies, 
skins  of  animals  are  used 
to  cover  the  Indian 


INDIAN    WIGWAMS    OF    BARK. 


Indian  houses,  houses.  The  wigwams  were  not  divided  into  rooms. 
The  inmates  slept  on  the  ground,  or  sometimes  on 
raised  platforms.  The  fire  was  built  in  the  middle  of 
the  wigwam,, and  the  smoke  found  its  way  out  through 
an  opening  at  the  top.  In  some  tribes  long  arbor-like 
houses  were  built  of  bark.  In  these  there  were  fires  at 
regular  intervals.  Two  families  lived  by  each  fire.  A 
picture  of  one  of  these  long  houses,  as  built  by  the 


HOW    THE   INDIANS  LIVED. 


73 


Iroquois  Indians,  will  be  found 
in  Chapter  XX.  In  New  Mex- 
ico there  are  Indians  who  live 
in  large  houses  of  stone  or 
sun-dried  brick.  Many  fami- 
lies, sometimes  all  the  people 
of  a  village,  inhabit  a  single 
house. 

The  Indian  houses  had  very 
little  furniture.  There  were  a 
few  mats  and  skins  for  bed- 
ding. Some  tribes  had  for 
household  use  only  wooden 
vessels,  which  they  made  by  burning  and  scraping  out 
blocks  of  wood,  little  by  little,  with  no  other  tools  than 
shells  or  sharp  stones.  These  Indians  cooked  their  food 
by  putting  water  into  their  wooden  bowls  and  then 
throwing  in  heated  stones.  When  the  stones  had  made 

the  water  hot,  they 
put    in    it    what- 


Furniture  of  wig- 
wams, and  modes 
of  cookery. 


NDIAN    WOMAN    MAKING    POTTERY. 


74 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


INDIAN    BOTTLE 
OF    POTTERY    FROI 


Indian  agricult- 
ure. 


ever  they  wished  to  cook.  Other  tribes  knew  how  to 
make  pots  of  earthenware ;  and  yet  others  cut  them 
out  of  soap-stone.  Vessels  of  pottery  and  soap-stone 
could  be  set  over  the  fire.  Often  fish  and  meat  were 
broiled  on  sticks  laid  across  above  the  fire ;  green  corn 
with  the  husks  on  it  was  roasted  under  the  ashes,  as  were 
also  squashes  and  various  roots.  Indian  corn,  put  into 
a  mortar  and  pounded  into  meal,  was  mixed  with  water 
and  baked  in  the  ashes,  or  boiled  in  a  pot.  Sometimes 
the  meal  was  parched 
and  carried  in  a  little 
bag,  to  be  eaten  on  a 
journey.  A  few  tribes 
near  to  salt  springs  had 
salt,  the  rest  used  leaves 
of  several  sorts  for  sea- 
soning. 

For  tilling  the  ground 
the     Indians     had     rude 
tools  ;     their     hoe     was    i&BHHBHHHI  BHL.        •• 
made   by  attaching   to   a 

stick  a  piece  of  deer's  horn,  or  the  shoulder-blade  of  an 
animal,  or  the  shell  of  a  turtle,  a  bit  of  wood,  or  a  flat 
stone.  They  raised  Indian  corn,  beans,  squashes,  and 
tobacco.  They  prepared  the  ground  by  girdling  the 
trees  so  as  to  kill  them  ;  sometimes  they  burned  the 
trees  down.  Some  tribes  had  rude  axes  for  cutting 
small  trees  ;  these  were  made  of  stone.  The  handle  of 
the  stone  axe  was  formed  by  tying  a  stick  to  it,  or  by 
twisting  a  green  withe  about  it.  Sometimes  an  Indian 
would  split  open  a  growing  young  tree  and  put  the  axe 
into  the  cleft ;  when  the  tree  had  grown  fast  around  the 


HOW    THE    INDIANS  LIVED. 


75 


.R- 


axe  he  would  cut  it  down 
and  shorten  it  to  the 
proper  length  for  a  han- 
dle. The  Indians  had  no 
iron.  For  knives  they  had 
pieces  of  bone,  sharp 
stones,  and  shells. 

The    Indian    procured   Making  fire. 
fire    by    twirling   the   end 
of  a  stick  against  another 
piece  of   wood.     To  give 
this   twirling   stick   a  quick 
motion,     he     wrapped     a     bow- 
string about  it,  and  then  drew  the  bow 
swiftly  to  and  fro. 

The  most  remarkable  product  of  Indian  skill  was  the  canoes, 
canoe ;  this  was  made  in  some  tribes  by  burning  out  a 
log,  little  by  little,  and  scraping  the  charred  parts  with 
shells,  until  the  "dug-out"    canoe  was  sufficiently  deep 
and   rightly  shaped.     Many  canoes   made    in    this   way, 
without      any 
other    tools 
than     shells       _ 

One  Indian  is  seen 
scraping  out  the 
charred  wood,  an- 
other is  fanning  the 
fire,  while  a  third 
is  burning  down  a 
tree  to  begin  a  new 
canoe. 


and   sharp   stones,    would    carry    from    twenty    to    forty 
men.     The  Northern  tribes  constructed  a  more  beautiful 


76 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


'Wars  between 
the  tribes. 


canoe,  of  white-birch  bark,  stretched  on  slender  wood- 
en ribs,  and  sewed  together  with  roots  and  fibers. 
Such  canoes  were  made  water-tight  by  the  use  of 
gums.  In  Chapter  XVI  will  be  seen  a  picture  of  birch- 
INDIAN  VASE.  bark  canoes. 

Among  the  Indians,  the  hardest  work  fell  to  the 
Division  of  labor,  women.  Hunting,  gambling,  and  making  war,  were  the 
occupations  of  the  men.  The  male  Indian  was  from 
childhood  trained  to  war  and  the  chase.  Game  and  fish, 
with  such  fruits,  nuts,  and  roots  as  grew  wild  in  the 
woods  and  swamps,  were  the  principal  dependence  of 
the  Indians  for  food.  As  they  suffered  much  from 
hunger  and  misery,  the  population  of  the  country  was 
always  thin. 

Moreover,  the  continual  wars  waged  between  the 
various  tribes,  in  which  women  and  children  as  well 
as  men  were  slain,  kept  the  red-men  from  increasing 
in  numbers.  Large  tracts  of  country  were  left  un- 
inhabited, because  tribes  at  war  dared  not  live  near 
to  one  another,  for  fear  of  surprise.  In  all  the  coun- 
try east  of  the  Mississippi  River  there  were  but  a 
few  hundred  thousand  people;  hardly  more  than  there 
are  in  one  of  our  smallest  States,  and  not  enough, 
if  they  had  all  been  brought  together,  to  make  a 
large  city. 

The   coming   of   the  white   people   made   great 
changes   in  the   Indian  life.      The  furs  and   skins, 
which  the  Indians  did  not  value,  except  for  neces- 
sary clothing,   were  articles  of  luxury  and  ornament  of 
great  value  in  Europe.    Many  a  half-starved 
Indian   was   clothed    in    furs    that   a    Eu- 
ropean  prince    would    have   prized.     The 


INDIAN    GIRL   WITH    BASKETS. 


HOW   THE   INDIANS  LIVED. 


-- 


savage  readily  exchanged  his  beautiful  beaver  coat  for  a  Beginning  Or 

bright-colored  blanket  and  thought  he  had  made  a  good  indum^ 

bargain,  though  his  furs  were  worth  to  the  white  man 

the  price  of  many  blankets.     The  Indians  of  the  region 

about    Boston    were    pleased    with    the 

trinkets  which  the    Plymouth  Pilgrims 

brought    them    on    a     trading    trip, 

and     the     Indian     women     even 

made    themselves    garments    out 

of  boughs  and  leaves  like  Mother 

Eve,  that  they  might   trade   their 

jackets    of    beaver-skin    to    the 

white  people  for  knickknacks. 

The   cheap   glass   beads 
and    tiny    bells,    such    as 
the    people    of    old    time 
hung   about   the   necks   of 
the  hawks  with  which  they 
hunted    birds,   were    greatly 
prized  by  savages.     Jew's-harps  were 
also  much  liked  by  them,  and  were 

sometimes  used  in  paying  them  for  land.  The  Indian  Articles  soia  to 
who  could  possess  himself  of  a  copper  kettle  was  a  rich 
man  in  his  tribe.  It  was  the  irresistible  temptation  of  a 
copper  kettle  that  persuaded  Japazaws  to  betray  Poca- 
hontas  to  the  Virginia  colonists.  The  cheap  iron  hatch- 
ets of  the  trader  drove  out  the  stone  axes,  and  knives 
were  eagerly  bought,  but  guns  were  more  sought  after 
than  anything  else;  and,  though  there  were  many  laws 
against  selling  fire-arms  to  the  Indians,  there  were  always 
men  who  were  glad  to  enrich  themselves  by  this  unlaw- 
ful trade.  The  passion  of  the  savage  for  intoxicating 


INDIAN    GIRLS 


POTTERY 

FROM    MISSOURI. 


yg  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

drinks  was  so  great  that  evil  men  among  the  traders 
were  often  able  to  strip  them  of  all  their  goods  by  selling 
them  strong  liquors. 

Purchase  of  land.  The  white  settlers  generally  bought  the  land  they 
occupied  from  the  Indians.  As  land  was  not  worth  much, 
the  price  paid  was  trifling.  Manhattan  Island,  on  which 
New  York  now  stands,  was  sold  to  the  Dutch,  by  the 
Indians,  for  about  twenty-four  dollars  in  trading  wares. 
The  land-sales  made  trouble,  for  the  lines  were  not  well 
defined,  and  were  often  matters  of  dispute.  The  Indians 
did  not  understand  business,  and  they  sometimes  had  to 
be  paid  over  and  over  again  for  a  tract  of  land. 


Dishonest  traders 
and  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

EARLY    INDIAN    WARS. 

THERE  were,  between  the  two  races,  occasions 
enough  for  quarreling.  Dishonest  white  men  were  sure 
to  cheat  the  ignorant  Indians,  and  the  violent  among 
the  Indians  were  as  sure  to  revenge  themselves.  If  an 
Indian  suffered  wrong  from  one  white  man,  he  thought 
he  had  a  right  to  take  vengeance  on  any  man,  woman,  or 
child  of  the  white  race  when  he  found  opportunity.  It 
was  an  Indian  saying  that  "  one  pays  for  another." 
When  evil  -  disposed  white  men  killed  and  robbed  an 
Indian  on  the  island  where  New  York  now  stands,  the 
nephew  of  the  slain  Indian,  though  but  a  little  boy,  laid 
it  up  in  his  mind  to  kill  some  white  man  in  revenge,  and 
when  he  had  grown  to  manhood,  he  entered  the  shop  of 


EARLY  INDIAN    WARS. 


79 


an  inoffensive  mechanic  in  a  lonesome  place,  killed  the 
poor  fellow,  and  felt  sure  that  he  had  at  last  done  justice 
to  his  uncle  by  slaying  somebody  who 
had  never  done  anybody  any  harm. 

Then,   too,   Indians   were  trained   to 
think    that    war    was    the    only     r~ 
worthy    occupation    of    a    great     ! 
man.     If  an  Indian  had  nev- 
er killed  an  enemy,  he  was 
nobody  ;     even     the    young 
girls     scouted      him.      The 
young  men  in  a  tribe  were 
therefore    always    in    favor 
of  war. 

Many  of  the  white 
people  sincerely  desired 
to  do  the  Indians  good. 
Schools  for  the  educa- 
tion of  Indian  children 
were  set  up  in  Virginia 
and  in  New  England. 
Catholic  missionaries  la- 
bored among  the  In- 
dians of  Maryland.  John 

Eliot,  of  Massachusetts,  preached  to  thousands  of  In- 
dians, and  translated  the  whole  Bible  into  their  lan- 
guage. He  is  called  the  "  Apostle  to  the  Indians." 
But,  even  in  trying  to  do  the  Indians  good,  the  white 
men  offended  them.  The  chiefs  and  "medicine-men" 
of  the  Indians  did  not  like  to  see  their  ancient  customs 
treated  with  contempt,  and  their  own  influence  destroyed 
by  the  new  religion. 


ndian  love  of 
war. 


Attempts  to  edu- 
cate  the    Indians. 


8o 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


CALUMET,    OR 
PEACE-PIPE. 


We  have  seen  how  suddenly  the  Indians  massacred 
the  Virginians  in  1622.  This  led  to  a  long  war,  with 
many  treacheries  and  cruel  surprises  on  both  sides.  As 
the  Virginians  found  that  the  Indians  did  not  keep  faith 
with  them,  but  used  the  cloak  of  peace  to  get  the  advan- 
tage of  a  sudden  surprise,  they,  on  their  part,  thought  it 
allowable  to  act  in  bad  faith,  the  more  that  they  could 
never  come  at  the  Indians,  who  would  take  their  own 
time  to  strike  and  flee.  Pretending  to  make  peace,  the 
colonists  sent  out,  simultaneously,  parties  to  fall  on  every 
Indian  village  within  their  reach.  It  is  said  they  even 
went  so  far  as  to  treacherously  use  poison  at  a  treaty- 
meeting  in  order  to  kill  certain  chiefs.  After  some  years 
the  neighboring  Indians  were  subdued  or  driven  off. 

But  in  1644  the  old  chief  Opechankano,  who  had  led 
in  the  first  massacre,  planned  a  second.  He  was  so  old 
that  he  could  not  walk  without  assistance,  and  could  not 
The  second  mas-  see,  except  when  his  eyelids  were  held  open.  He  was 
carried  to  the  scene  of  bloodshed.  The  Indians  had  by 
this  time  secured  guns.  By  a  sudden  surprise  they  killed 
about  five  hundred  white  people  in  a  single  day.  But 
they  paid  dearly  for  their  victory,  for  the  colony  had 
grown  strong  enough  to  defeat  and  punish  them.  They 
were  driven  away  from  their  villages.  Opechankano 
was  taken  prisoner,  and,  while  a  captive,  was  suddenly 
killed  by  an  infuriated  soldier. 

The  Pequot  war  in  Connecticut  grew  out  of  the 
differences  between  the  Dutch  and  the  English  settlers. 
The  English  brought  back  the  Indians  whom  the  Pequot 
tribe  had  just  driven  away.  The  Pequots  began  the  war 
by  killing  some  English  traders.  The  attempts  of  the 
English  colonists  to  conquer  this  tribe  were  at  first  of 


EARLY  INDIAN    WARS. 


81 


MASK    MADE    BY 
IROQUOIS    INDIANS. 


no  avail.  The  Indians  were  light  of  foot,  and  got  away 
from  men  clad  in  heavy  armor.  They  continued  to  seize 
and  torture  to  death  such  English  as  they  could  catch. 
In  1637,  John  Mason,  a  trained  soldier,  at  the  head  of  a 
company  of  Connecticut  men,  with  some  from  Massachu- 
setts, marched  into  the  Pequot  country.  At  Mystic, 
Connecticut,  just  before  daybreak,  the  Connecticut  men 
surrounded  the  palisaded  village  of  Sassacus,  the  dread- 
ed Pequot  chief.  In  the  first  onset  Mason  set  the  vil- 
lage on  fire.  A  horrible  slaughter  followed.  Indian 
men,  women,  and  children,  to  the  number  of  five  or  six 
hundred,  were  shot  down  or  burned  in  the  village,  or 
killed  in  trying  to  escape.  In  the  war  which  followed 
this  attack,  the  whole  Pequot  tribe  was  broken  up,  and 
the  other  Indians  were  so  terrified  that  New  England 
had  peace  for  many  years  after. 

About   the  same  time  cruel    Indian  wars  raged    be-  Indian  wars  in 
tween  the  Dutch  of  New  Netherland  (now  New  York)  iand,  and'vir- 
and  the  Indians  in  their  neighborhood.     At  one  time  the  gl 
Dutch  colony  was  almost  overthrown.     There  was  also 
a  war  between  the   Marylanders  and  the  Susquehannah 
tribe.      In    1656  the  Virginians   suffered  a  bitter  defeat 
in  a  battle  with  the  Indians  at  the  place  where  Rich- 
mond now  stands.     The  brook  at  this  place  got  the  name 
of  Bloody  Run. 

In  1675  there  broke  out  in  New  England  the  terrible  King 
Indian  war  known  ever  since  as  King  Philip's  War. 
Philip  was  the  son  of  Massasoit,  the  Indian  chief  who 
had  been  long  a  friend  to  the  Plymouth  settlers.  Philip 
was  a  proud  man,  and  thought  that  he  was  not  treated 
with  enough  respect  by  the  rulers  of  Plymouth  Colony, 
who  acted  with  imprudent  boldness  in  their  dealings 


82 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


wamp 

at-  the 


with  him.  He  was  also  irritated  because  large  numbers 
of  his  people  were  converted  to  the  Christian  religion, 
through  the  labors  of  John  Eliot.  These  converted  peo- 
ple, or  "  praying  Indians,"  formed  themselves  into  vil- 
lages, and  lived  under  the  government  of  the  Massachu- 
setts colony,  by  which  means  Philip's  power  and  impor- 
tance were  reduced. 

Philip  won  some  successes  at  first,  and  Indians  of 
other  tribes  came  to  his  assistance.  Many  New  Eng- 
land towns  were  laid  in  ashes,  and  hundreds  of  peo- 
ple were  killed  or  carried  away  into  captivity.  The 
powerful  tribe  of  Narragansetts  gave  Philip  secret  aid, 
and  in  the  winter  the  white  men  boldly  attacked  their 
stronghold.  This  was  always  known  as  the  "  Swamp 
Fight."  Hundreds  of  Indians  were  slain,  and  their  vil- 
lage burned.  The  colonists  also  lost  two  hundred  men 
in  this  battle,  and  the  Narragansetts  took  a  terrible 
revenge  by  burning  houses  and  killing  people  in  every 
direction. 

But  after  a  while  the  white  men  learned  how  to  fight 
the  Indians.  Captain  Benjamin  Church  was  the  most 
famous  fighter  against  the  Indians  in  this  war.  He  was 
tireless,  fearless,  and  full  of  expedients.  He  first  taught 
the  Englishmen  to  practice  the  arts  of  the  Indian  in  war. 
He  knew  how  to  manage  men,  and  had  great  influence 
over  them.  He  would  even  persuade  captive  Indians 
to  join  his  band  and  lead  him  to  the  haunts  of  their 
friends.  On  approaching  a  party  of  concealed  Indians, 
one  of  the  Indians  who  followed  Church  would  hoot 
like  an  owl  or  bark  like  a  wolf,  or  imitate  some  other 
cry  of  the  forest.  These  were  the  pass-words  of  the 
woods,  and,  when  heard  by  another  Indian,  a  similar  cry 


EARLY  INDIAN    WARS.  g^ 

would  be  returned.     Church  would  thus  entrap  the  In- 
dians by  the  treachery  of  their  own  friends. 

After  a  bitter  war,  in  which    the  white  settlements  Death  of  Philip, 
suffered  so  severely  that  timid  people  thought  the  col- 
ony of  Massachusetts  might  be  destroyed,  Philip's 
power    was    gradually    broken,    as    his    warriors 
were  most  of  them  killed  or  captured.     Church's 
men   at   length   surrounded    Philip   in   a  swamp, 
and,  in  trying  to  escape,  the  chief  was  killed   by 
a  deserter  from   his  own  tribe.     Church  let  this 
Indian  take  Philip's  scarred  hand  for  a  trophy. 
This  he  carried   about  the   country,  making 
money  by  showing  it. 

When    Philip  was  dead,  only  old  Annawon, 
Philip's  head-man,  remained  in  the  field  with  a 

party.  When  Church  at  last  found  him,  he  was  shel-  Defeat  of  Anna- 
tered  under  some  cliffs.  Church  had  but  half  a  dozen 
men  with  him  ;  Annawon  ten  times  that  number  of  reso- 
lute braves.  But,  creeping  down  the  cliffs,  while  an 
Indian  woman  was  making  a  noise  by  pounding  corn  in 
a  mortar,  Church  succeeded  in  capturing  the  guns  of  the 
Indians,  which  were  stacked  at  Annawon's  feet.  Seeing 
his  boldness,  the  Indians  thought  that  Church  had  sur- 
rounded them  with  a  great  many  men,  and  they  there- 
fore surrendered.  Most  of  the  Indians  taken  in  this 
war  were  cruelly  sold  into  slavery  in  Barbadoes. 

Though  Philip's  war  was  ended  when  his  tribe  had  use  of  whaie- 

boat  in  fighting 

been  almost  extirpated,  the  New  England  people  did  not  Indians. 
have  peace.     The  Indians  of  Maine  kept  up  a  war  on  the 
Eastern  settlements.     In  this  war  Church   was  still  the 
right  hand  of  the  colonies.     He  introduced  the  use  of  the 
light  whale-boat,  which  afterward  did  admirable  service 


84 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Bacon's  war  with 
the  Virginia  In- 
dians,  1676. 


The  Westoes  and 
Tuscaroras  de- 
feated. 


on  Lake  George  and  Lake  Champlain  in  the  wars  with 
the  French  in  Canada,  and  which  was  used  in  Long 
Island  Sound  for  some  daring  expeditions  during  the 
Revolution.  Church  put  leathern  loops  on  the  sides  of 
his  boats,  so  that,  when  necessary,  his  men  could  thrust 
bars  through  the  loops  and  carry  the  boats  where  they 
pleased.  He  moved  as  stealthily  as  the  Indians,  and,  to 
avoid  an  alarm,  never  allowed  an  Indian  to  be  shot  who 
could  be  reached  with  the  hatchet.  Though  engaged  in 
so  fierce  a  business  as  savage  warfare,  Church  had  a 
good  deal  of  forbearance  and 
kindliness. 

About  the  time  of  Philip's 
war  the  Doegs  and  Susque- 
hannahs  were  ravaging  the 
Virginia  frontier,  while  the 
governor  of  that  colony  re- 
fused to  allow  any  one  to 
march  against  them.  But  Na- 
thaniel Bacon,  a  young  man  of 
great  spirit,  was  chosen  by  the 
people  to  lead  them,  which  he 
did  in  opposition  to  the  gov- 
ernor's orders.  This  disobe- 
dience led  to  "  Bacon's  Re- 
bellion," as  it  is  called,  the 
story  of  which  is  told  in  Chap- 
ter XXVI. 

All  the  colonies  suffered 
from  Indian  wars.  The  infant  settlement  in  South  Caro- 
lina was  almost  ruined  by  a  war  with  the  Indians  called 
Westoes,  ten  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  white 


NORTH    CAROLII 


EARLY  INDIAN    WARS.  g^ 

men,  and  in  the  very  year  that  Charleston  was  settled  ; 
that  is,  in  1680.  In  1711  the  warlike  Tuscaroras  rav- 
aged the  scattered  settlements  of  North  Carolina,  put- 
ting people  to  death  by  horrible  tortures.  It  was  only 
by  the  help  of  the  Virginians  and  South  Carolinians, 
and  the  Yamassee  Indians,  that  the  settlers,  after  two 
years,  finally  defeated  the  Tuscaroras,  capturing  and 
sending  many  hundreds  of  them  to  be  sold  as  slaves 
in  the  West  India  Islands  ;  a  mode  of  disposing  of  In- 
dian prisoners  very  common  at  that  time.  The  sale  of 
the  Indians  got  them  out  of  the  country,  and  paid  a 
part  of  the  cost  of  the  war.  But  West  Indian  slavery  in 
that  day  was  particularly  severe  on  the  Indians,  who 
could  not  bear  hard  labor,  a  change  of  climate,  or  the 
loss  of  their  liberty. 

In  1715  the  Yamassees,  who  two  years  before  had  The  Yamassee 
helped  the  white  people  to  put  down  the  Tuscaroras,  Carolina,  1715. 
joined  with  the  Spaniards  in  Florida,  and  with  all  the 
other  Indians  from  Florida  to  Cape  Fear,  in  an  attempt  to 
destroy  the  colony  of  South  Carolina.  There  were  six 
or  seven  thousand  Indian  warriors  in  this  league,  while 
South  Carolina  could  only  muster  fifteen  hundred  white 
men  and  two  hundred  trusty  negroes.  Governor  Cra- 
ven knew  that  a  single  defeat  would  ruin  the  colony, 
so  he  marched  with  the  utmost  caution  until  he  brought 
on  a  great  battle,  and  overthrew  the  Indians.  This  war 
lasted  about  three  years,  and  resulted  in  the  ruin  of  the 
Yamassees. 


86 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Indian  weapons. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

TRAITS    OF   WAR    WITH    THE    INDIANS. 

THE  most  important  weapon  of  the  Indian,  when  the 
white  men  came,  was  the  bow  and  arrow.  The  arrow 
was  headed  with  a  sharpened  flint  or  a  bit  of  horn. 
Sometimes  the  spur  of  a  wild-turkey  or  the  claw  of  an 
eagle  was  used  to  point  the  arrow.  Next  to  the  bow 
and  arrow  the  Indian  warrior  depended  on  a  war-club, 
which  had  a  handle  at  one  end  and  a  heavy  knob  at  the 
other,  or  upon  a  tomahawk,  made  by  fastening  a  wooden 
handle  to  a  round  stone,  or  a  stone  axe.  But  all  their 
rude  weapons  were  given  up  as  soon  as  the  Indians 
could  get  knives,  hatchets,  and  guns  from  the  white 
men.  In  some  cases,  it  is  said,  they  were  so  eager  for 
gunpowder  that  they  sowed  what  they  got  at  first,  sup- 
posing it  to  be  the  seed  of  a  plant.  The  Pequots  com- 
manded two  white  girls,  whom  they  had  captured,  to 
make  some  gunpowder,  supposing  that  all  white  people 
knew  how  to  make  it. 

At  the  first  arrival  of  white  men,  they  protected 
themselves  by  wearing  armor,  and  the  Indian  arrows 
could  not  do  them  much  hurt.  But, 
as  soldiers  could  not  get  about  very 
fast  in  heavy  armor  and  with  clumsy 
guns,  they  could  not  do  much  harm 

to  the   Indians.      Some     of  the  guns  used  were  match- 
Armor  and  arms 
of  the  white  men    locks.      In  order  to  shoot,  the  soldier  had  to  place  in 


MATCHLOCK. 


MATCHLOCK-GUN. 


TRAITS   OF    WAR    WITH    THE   INDIANS. 


front  of  him  a  "  rest  " — a  kind  of  forked 
stick  or  staff — and  lay  his  heavy  gun  across  it. 
In  firing,  the  powder  on  the  lock  of  his  gun 
was  set  off  with  a  lighted  fuse  or  match  ;  and 
the  soldier  had  to  carry  a  burning  fuse  in  his 
hand.  If  he  let  his  fuse  go  out,  he  could  not 
use  his  gun  until  he  got  fire  again,  for  friction- 
matches  were  unknown.  But  the  Indians  would 
not  stand  still  while  the  white  men  got  ready  to 
shoot.  This  awkward  matchlock-gun  was  some- 
times used  as  late  as  1675,  the  time  of  Philip's 
war.  The  snaphance,  or  flint-lock,  was  already 
coming  into  use  when  the  colonies  were  settled.  The 
flint-lock  was  set  off  by  the  striking  of  the  flint  against  a 
piece  of  steel,  when  the  trigger  was 
pulled.  (Guns  with  percussion-caps  are 
a  much  later  invention.)  Some  of  the 
white  men  at  first  were  armed  with 
pikes  or  spears ;  but  it  was  found  to 
be  a  very  dangerous  business  to  poke 
an  Indian  out  of  the  brush  with  a 
pike.  During  Philip's  war  the  pike 
began  to  go  out  of  use  in  America. 

When  the    Indians   had   procured  The  Indians  get 

fire-arms.    White 

fire-arms,  the  armor  which  the  soldiers  men  change  then 

.       ,|  mode  of  fighting. 

wore,  being  of    little  use  against  bullets, 


PIKEMAN    OF   THAT   TIH 


was  rather  a  burden  than  an  advantage. 
Long  after  the  first  settlements  were  made,  white  men 
ceased  by  degrees  to  wear  the  head,  and  breast,  and 
back  pieces  of  metal,  and  they  laid  aside  also  the  heavy 


TCHLOCK-GUN. 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Treatment  of 
prisoners  by  the 
Indians. 


buff-coats,  which  were  made  of  leather  and  stuffed,  to 
resist  bullets.  The  colonists  also  learned  to  march  in 
scattering  parties,  as  the  Indians  did,  in  order  to  avoid 
surprise,  and  to  lie  in  ambush,  and  to  load  their  guns 
while  lying  down.  For  a  long  time  the  savages  made 
attacks  on  the  Northern  settlements  in  the  winter,  when 
the  snow  was  so  deep  that  the  soldiers  could  not  move 
about ;  but,  after  stupidly  suffering  this  for  many  years, 
the  Northern  colonies  at  length  put  their  soldiers  on 
snow-shoes,  too,  and  then  all  was  changed. 

The  Indian  did  not  hesitate  to  resort  to  treachery  to 
entrap  his  foes.  He  would  profess  friendship  in  order 
to  disarm  an  enemy.  He  gloried  in  ingenious  tricks, 
such  as  the  wearing  of  snow-shoes  with  the  hind  part 
before,  so  as  to  make  an  enemy  believe  that  he  had  gone 
in  an  opposite  direction.  He  would  sometimes  imitate 
the  cry  of  the  wild-turkey,  and  so  tempt  a  white  hunter 
into  the  woods,  that  he  might  destroy  him.  An  Indian 
scout  would  dress  himself  up  with  twigs,  so  as  to  look 
like  a  bush.  Many  of  these  things  the  white  people 
learned  to  practice  also. 

The  Indians  were  very  cruel ;  it  was  part  of  their 
plan  to  strike  terror  by  their  severity.  This  is  why 
they  tortured  their  prisoners  to  death  and  disfigured  the 
dead,  and  why  they  slew  women  and  children  as  well  as 
men.  They  not  only  put  some  of  their  prisoners  to 
death  in  the  most  cruel  way  their  ingenuity  could  de- 
vise, but,  in  some  tribes,  they  even  devoured  them  after- 
ward. Sometimes,  however,  a  prisoner  was  adopted  into 
an  Indian  family,  and  kindly  treated.  Many  hundreds 
of  white  children  were  thus  adopted,  and  forgot  their 
own  language.  Some  of  them  afterward  engaged  in 


TRAITS   OF    WAR     WITH    THE   INDIANS.  gg 

war  against  their  own  people.  One  boy,  named  Thomas 
Rice,  was  carried  o"ff  from  Massachusetts  in  child- 
hood, and  became  a  chief  of  the  tribe  which  had  capt- 
ured him. 

The  settlers  learned  after  a  while  many  ways  of  de-  Defense  of  th 
fending  themselves.  They  built  block-houses  in  every 
exposed  settlement,  for  refuge  in  case  of  attack.  When 
Indians  were  discovered  lurking  about  in  the  night,  a 
messenger  would  be  sent  from  the  block-house  to  warn 
the  sleeping  settlers.  This  messenger  would  creep  up 
to  a  window  and  tap  on  it,  whispering,  "  Indians ! " 
Then  the  family  within  would  get  up,  and,  without 
speaking  or  making  a  light,  gather  the  most  necessary 
things  and  hurry  away  along  dark  paths  through  the 
woods  to  the  block-house.  In  some  of  the  more  exposed 
regions  the  dogs  were  even  trained  not  to  bark  unless 
commanded  to. 

A  town  in  Maine  was  attacked  and  almost  destroyed  Anecdotes  of 

defense. 

by  Indians,  when  one  man  sent  his  family  by  boat  out 
of  the  back  door  of  his  fortified  house,  remaining  there 
alone.  By  frequently  changing  his  hat  and  coat,  and 
then  appearing  without  a  hat  and  then  without  a  coat, 
and  by  giving  orders  in  a  loud  voice,  he  made  the  In- 
dians believe  that  his  house  was  too  full  of  men  for  them 
to  attack  it.  Some  Swedish  women,  near  where  Phila- 
delphia now  stands,  saw  Indians  coming,  and  took  refuge 
in  their  fortified  church,  carrying  with  them  a  kettle  of 
hot  soap.  They  defended  themselves  until  their  hus- 
bands came  by  throwing  the  boiling  soap,  with  a  ladle, 
at  every  Indian  who  approached  the  church.  A  maid- 
servant in  Massachusetts,  left  alone  with  little  children, 
drove  away  an  Indian,  who  tried  to  enter  the  house,  by 


BLOCK- HOUSE. 


QQ  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

firing  a  musket  at  him  and  throwing  a  shovelful  of  live 
coals  on  his  head.  A  young  girl  in  Maine  held  a  door 
shut  until  thirteen  women  and  children  had  time  to  es- 
cape by  a  back  door  into  a  block-house.  The  Indians, 
when  they  got  in,  knocked  the  girl  down,  but  did  not 
kill  her. 

In  some,  if  not  all,  of  the  colonies,  the  firing  of  three 
shots  in  succession  was  the  sign  of  danger.  Every  man 
who  heard  it  was  required  to  pass  the  alarm  to  those 
farther  away,  by  firing  three  times,  and  then  to  go  in 
the  direction  in  which  the  shots  had  been  heard.  In 
many  places  large  dogs  were  kept  and  trained  to  hunt 
for  Indians,  as  highway  robbers  were  hunted  down  in 
that  day  in  England.  In  all  exposed  places,  a  part  or 
all  of  the  men  took  their  arms  to  church  with  them. 

The  people  became  very  brave,  and  were  fierce  and 
even  cruel  during  these  long-continued  Indian  wars.  A 
wounded  soldier  would  beg  to  have  a  loaded  gun  put 
into  his  hands  that  he  might,  before  he  died,  kill  one 
more  Indian. 

Captives  often  escaped  from  the  Indians  by  ingenious 
devices,  and  sometimes  suffered  dreadful  hardships  in 
getting  back  to  the  settlements.  A  young  girl  in  New 
England,  after  three  weeks  of  captivity,  made  a  bridle 
out  of  bark,  caught  a  horse  running  in  the  woods, 
and,  by  riding  all  night,  reached  the  settlement.  Two 
little  lads  named  Bradley  got  away,  but  they  were 
tracked  by  the  Indian  dogs,  who  came  up  with  them 
while  they  were  hidden  in  a  hollow  log.  They  fed  the 
dogs  part  of  their  provisions  to  make  them  friendly. 
After  traveling  nine  days  the  elder  fell  down  with  ex- 
haustion, but  the  younger,  who  was  the  more  resolute, 


TRAITS   OF    WAR    WITH    THE   INDIANS.  gj 

dragged  himself  starving  into  a  settlement  in  Maine,  and 
sent  help  to  his  brother. 

Hannah  Dustin,  Mary  Neff,  and  a  boy  were  carried  Hannah 
off  from  Haverhill,  Massachusetts.  At  midnight,  while 
encamped  on  an  island,  they  got  hatchets  and  killed  ten 
Indians,  and  then  escaped  in  a  canoe  down  the  river. 
This  bold  escape  soon  became  famous  in  the  colonies, 
and  the  Governor  of  Maryland,  hearing  of  it,  sent  to 
the  returned  captives  a  present  for  their  courage. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

LIFE    IN    THE    COLONIAL    TIME. 

WHEN  people  first  came  to  this  country  they  had  to  First  houses  of 

the  colonists. 

take  up  with  such  houses  as  they  could  get.  In  Vir- 
ginia and  New  England,  as  in  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia, holes  were  dug  in  the  ground  for  dwelling-places 
by  some  of  the  first  settlers.  In  some  places  bark  wig- 
wams were  made,  like  those  of  the  Indians.  Sometimes 
a  rude  cabin  was  built  of  round  logs,  and  without  a  floor. 
As  time  advanced,  better  houses  were  built.  Some  of 
these  were  of  hewed  logs,  some  of  planks,  split,  or  sawed 
out  by  hand.  The  richer  people  built  good  houses  soon 
after  they  came.  Most  of  these  had  in  the  middle  a  large 
room,  called  "  the  hall." 


02  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

The  chimneys'  were  generally  very  large,  with  wide 
fireplaces.  Sometimes  there  were  seats  inside  the  fire- 
place, and  children,  sitting  on  these  seats  in  the  evening, 
amused  themselves  by  watching  the  stars  through  the 
top  of  the  chimney.  In  the  early  houses  most  of  the 
windows  had  paper  instead  of  glass.  This  paper  was 
oiled,  so  as  to  let  light  come  through. 

Except  in  the  houses  of  rich  people  the  furniture 
was  scant  and  rough.  Benches,  stools,  and  tables  were 
home-made.  Beds  were  often  filled  with  mistletoe,  the 
down  from  cat-tail  flags,  or  the  feathers  of  wild-pigeons. 
People  who  were  not  rich  brought  their  food  to  the 
table  in  wooden  trenchers,  or  trays,  and  ate  off  wooden 
plates.  Some  used  square  blocks  of  wood  instead  of 
plates.  Neither  rich  nor  poor,  in  England  or  America, 
had  forks  when  the  first  colonies  were  settled.  Meat 
was  cut  with  a  knife  and  eaten  from  the  fingers.  On 
the  tables  of  well-to-do  people  pewter  dishes  were  much 
used,  and  a  row  of  shining  pewter  in  an  open  cupboard, 
called  a  dresser,  was  a  sign  of  good  housekeeping.  The 
richest  people  had  silver- ware  for  use  on  great  occasions. 
They  also  had  stately  furniture  brought  from  England. 
But  carpets  were  hardly  ever  seen.  The  floor  of  the 
best  room  was  strewed  with  sand,  which  was  marked  off 
in  ornamental  figures.  There  was  no  wall-paper  until 
long  after  1700,  but  rich  cloths  and  tapestry  hung  on  the 
walls  of  the  finest  houses. 

Cooking  was  done  in  front  of  fireplaces  in  skillets 
and  on  griddles  that  stood  upon  legs,  so  that  coals 
could  be  put  under  them,  and  in  pots  and  kettles  that 
hung  over  the  fire  on  a  swinging  crane,  so  that  they 
could  be  drawn  out  or  pushed  back.  Sometimes  there 


LIFE   IN    THE    COLONIAL    TIME. 


93 


CABIN    OF    ROUr> 


was  an  oven,  for  baking,  built  in  the  side  of  the  chim- 
ney.     Meat  was  roasted  on  a  spit   in  front  of  the  fire. 
The  spit  was  an 
iron    rod    thrust 
through  the  piece 
to     be     roasted, 
and  turned  by  a 
crank.     A  whole 
pig  or  fowl  was 
sometimes    hung 
up  before  the  fire 
and  turned  about 
while   it   roasted.      Often  pieces   of   meat  were   broiled 
by  throwing  them  on  the  live  coals. 

A  mug  of  home-brewed  beer,  with  bread  and  cheese,  what  they  ate. 
or  a  porridge  of  peas  or  beans,  boiled  with  a  little 
meat,  constituted  the  breakfast  of  the  early  colonists. 
Neither  tea  nor  coffee  was  known  in  England  or  this 
country  until  long  after  the  first  colonies  were  set- 
tled. When  tea  came  in,  it  became  a  fashionable 
drink,  and  was  served  to  company  from  pretty  little 
china  cups,  set  on  lacquered  tables.  Mush,  made  of 
Indian-corn  meal,  was  eaten  for  supper. 

In  proportion  to  the  population,  more  wine  and  spir-  what  they  drank, 
its  were  consumed  at  that  time  than  now.  The  very 
strong  Madeira  wine  was  drunk  at  genteel  tables. 
Rum,  which  from  its  destructive  effects  was  known 
everywhere  by  the  nickname  of  "  kill-devil,"  was  much 
used  then.  At  every  social  gathering  rum  was  pro- 
vided. Hard  cider  was  a  common  drink,  as  was  mead 
or  metheglin,  which  was  made  from  honey.  There 
was  much  shameful  drunkenness.  Peach-brandy  was 


94 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


used    in    the    Middle   and    Southern    colonies,   and    was 
very  ruinous  to  health  and  morals. 

People  of  wealth  made  great  display  in  their  dress. 
Much  lace  and  many  silver  buckles  and  buttons  were 
worn.  Working-men  of  all  sorts  wore  leather,  deer- 
skin, or  coarse  canvas  breeches.  The  stockings  worn 
by  men  were  long,  .the  breeches  were  short,  and 
buckled,  or  otherwise  fastened,  at  the  knees. 

Our  forefathers  traveled  about  in  canoes  and  little 
sailing-boats  called  shallops.  Most  of  the  canoes  would 
hold  about  six  men,  but  some  were  large  enough  to 
carry  forty  or  more.  For  a  long  time  there  were  no 
roads  except  Indian  trails  and  bridle-paths,  which  could 
only  be  traveled  on  foot  or 
on  horseback.  Goods  were 
carried  on  pack-horses,  or 
in  boats  and  little  vessels. 
When  roads  were  made, 
wagons  came  into  use. 

In  a  life  so  hard  and  busy 


as  that  of  the  early  settlers, 


r 


LIFE   IN    THE    COLONIAL    TIME. 


there  was  little  time  for  education.     The  .schools  were 
few    and    generally   poor.      Boys,    when    taught    at   all, 

learned  to  read,  write, 
and  "  cast  accounts." 
Girls  were  taught 


PACK-HORSES. 


even  less.  Many  of  the  children  born  when  the  colo- 
nies were  new  grew  up  unable  to  write  their  names. 
There  were  few  books  at  first,  and  no  newspapers  until 
after  1700.  There  was  little  to  occupy  the  mind  except 
the  Sunday  sermon,  which  was  often  one  or  two  hours 
in  length. 


SCHOOL  SCENE 


0.       THE    MASTER    AND    HIS    ASSIST 


g5  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

In  all  the  colonies  people  were  very  fond  of  dancing-- 
parties. Weddings  were  times  of  great  excitement  and 
often  of  much  drinking.  In  some  of  the  colonies  wed- 


ding  festivities  were  continued  for  several  days.  Even 
funerals  were  occasions  of  feasting,  and  sometimes  of  ex- 
cessive drinking.  In  the  Middle  and  Southern  colonies 
the  people  were  fond  of  horse-racing,  cock-fighting,  and 
many  other  rude  sports  brought  from  England.  New 
England  people  made  their  militia-trainings  the  occasions 


LIFE  IN    THE    COLONIAL    TIME. 

for   feasting   and    amusement,    fighting   sham    battles, 
and  playing  many  rough,  old-fashioned  games.     Coast- 
ing  on   the  snow,  skating,  and   sleighing  were  first 
brought  into  America  from   Holland   by  the   Dutch 
settlers  in  New  York. 

In   all    the    colonies    there   was   a    great    deal    of 
hunting  and  fishing.     The  woods  were  full  of  deer 
and  wild-turkeys ;  a  whole  deer  was  sometimes  sold 
for  a  shilling.    The  rivers  were  alive  with  water-fowl 
and  fish.     From  childhood  the  colonists  learned 
to  love  the  sports  of  the  forest  and  stream,  and      DUTCH  WOMAN 
much  idleness  was  produced   by  this  fondness  for 
hunting    and    fishing.      In    the    up-country    of    the 
Southern    and    Middle    colonies  ,  there    grew   a    race   of  Abundance  of 
hunters   who   led    half-savage    lives   in   the   woods,   and 
often  refused  obedience  to  authority.      Almost  as  wild 
as  the  savages,  they  formed  a  race  of  warlike  men,  who 
made  successful  rangers  in  the  Indian  wars,  famous  rifle- 
men in  the   Revolution,  and  daring  pioneers  when  the 
country  beyond  the  mountains  came  to  be  settled. 

Deer  were  caught  in  iron  traps  large  enough  to  be  Modes  of  taking 
dangerous  to  men.  Sometimes  a  hunter  inclosed  himself 
in  a  deer-skin  so  as  to  creep  up  near  to  a  herd  of  these 
timid  creatures.  Horses  were  trained  to  walk  gently  by 
the  side  of  the  hunter,  in  order  to  conceal  him  until  the 
deer  was  killed.  A  ring  of  men  would  surround  a  tract 
of  country  and  then  draw  in  toward  the  middle,  killing 
deer,  wolves,  and  wild-turkeys,  whenever  these  creatures 
tried  to  escape.  A  circle  of  fire  was  sometimes  lighted 
in  the  dry  woods,  and,  as  this  burned  to  the  center,  the 
men  followed  on  the  outside  of  the  ring  and  killed  all 
the  g-ame  inclosed.  Foxes  were  baited  with  sled-loads 


98 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


of  codfish-heads,  and  then  shot  by  men  in  concealment  as 
they  came  to  eat.  Wolves  were  caught  on  large  fish- 
hooks bound  together  and  inclosed  in  tallow.  As  there 
was  no  end  of  game,  animals  were  slain  without  fear  of 
exterminating  them.  A  whole  flock  of  wild-turkeys  was 
now  and  then  taken  in  a  single  trap.  Wild-pigeons,  which 
flew  in  such  numbers  as  to  darken  the  sky,  were  slaugh- 
tered by  the  cart-load. 

Modes  of  fishing.  Vast  crowds  of  men  gathered  at  the  falls  of  the  New 
England  rivers  when  the  salmon  and  shad  were  running 
up,  and  took  the  fish  in  nets,  until  their  pack-horses  were 
loaded  with  them.  In  the  shallow  waters  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  men  rode  into  the  streams  at  night,  with 
torches  in  their  hands,  sitting  on  horseback  to  spear 
fish. 

Fairs.  Fairs  after  the  English  pattern  were  held  in  the 

Middle  and  Southern  colonies.  These  were  rendered 
attractive  by  the  rough  old  English  sports.  A  live  goose 
was  hung  head  downward,  and  horsemen  riding  below 
at  full  speed  tried  to  pull  off  its  head.  A  greased 
pig  was  given  to  the  man  who  could  catch  it  and  hold 
it  by  the  tail.  Laced  hats,  boots,  and  other  valuable  arti- 
cles were  hung  on  top  of  greased  poles,  to  be  taken  by 
him  who  could  climb  for  them.  The  efforts  of  men  to 
hold  greased  pigs  or  climb  greased  poles  gave  great 
amusement  to  the  crowd.  Sometimes  such  cruel  and 
brutal  sports  as  the  baiting  of  bulls  with  dogs  were 
enjoyed  by  our  ancestors,  who  were  not  so  humane  as 
they  might  have  been. 


ments  in  silk- 


FARMING  AND    SHIPPING  IN    THE    COLONIES. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

FARMING  AND   SHIPPING   IN   THE   COLONIES. 

WE  have  seen  how  the  people  who  came  first  to  Early 
North  America  expected  to  find  either  a  way  to  India,  raising" 
or  mines  like  those  discovered  farther  southward.  But  growinBi  etc- 
when  they  found  that  they  could  not  secure  either  the 
spices  of  India  or  the  gold  and  silver  of  Peru,  they 
turned  their  attention  to  the  soil,  to  see  what  could  be 
got  by  agriculture.  But  at  first  their  plans  for  farming 
in  America  were  as  wild  as  their  plans  for  getting  to 
India.  They  spent  much  time  in  trying  to  produce  silk 
and  wine,  two  things  which  can  be  raised  with  profit 
only  in  old  and  well-settled  countries.  They  also  tried 
to  raise  madder,  coffee,  tea,  olives,  and  the  cacaonut, 
from  which  chocolate  is  made. 

John  Rolfe,  the  husband  of  Pocahontas,  in  1612  took  Tobacco-grow- 
ing in  Virginia 

a  lesson  from  the  Indian  fields  about  him,  and  succeeded  and  Maryland. 
in  growing  tobacco  for  the  English  market.  Before  this 
time,  English  smokers  and  snuff-takers  got  their  tobacco 
from  the  Spaniards.  The  plant  was  well  suited  to  the 
Virginia  climate,  and  it  was  easy  to  ship  tobacco  from 
the  farms,  which  were  all  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers. 
Gold  and  silver  coins  were  scarce  in  those  days,  and,  in 
half  a  dozen  years  after  John  Rolfe  planted  the  first  to- 
bacco, it  had  become  the  only  money  of  Virginia.  Al- 
most everything  bought  and  sold  in  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land, before  the  Revolution,  was  paid  for  in  tobacco. 

The  colony  of  South  Carolina  maintained  itself  in  a  Rice  produced  in 

South  Carolina. 

rather   poor  way,  during   the   first   twenty-six   years  of 


IOO 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Eliza  Lucas  in- 
troduces indigo- 
culture. 


Indian  corn, 
wheat,  and  pota- 


its  existence,  chiefly  by  shipping  lumber  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  by  making  tar  and  pitch.  But  there  was 
living  in  Charleston,  in  1696,  a  gentleman  named  Thomas 
Smith,  who  had  seen  rice  cultivated  in  Madagascar. 
One  day  when  a  sea-captain,  an  old  friend  of  his, 
sailed  into  Charleston  Harbor  from  Madagascar,  Thomas 
Smith  got  from  him  a  bag  of  seed-rice.  This  was  care- 
fully sown  in  a  wet  place  in  Smith's  garden  in  Charles- 
ton. It  grew,  and  soon  Carolina  was  changed  into  a 
land  of  great  rice-plantations.  The  raising  of  rice  spread 
into  Georgia  when  that  colony  was  settled. 

In  1741  an  energetic  young  lady,  Miss  Eliza  Lucas, 
began  to  try  experiments  in  growing  the  indigo-plant  in 
South  Carolina.  A  frost  destroyed  the  first  crop  that 
she  planted,  and  a  worm  cut  down  the  next.  The 
indigo-maker  brought  from  the  West  Indies  tried  to  de- 
ceive her  afterward,  but  by  1745  this  persevering  young 
lady  had  proved  that  indigo  could  be  grown  in  South 
Carolina,  and  in  two  years  more  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  it  were  exported.  It  was  a  leading  crop  for 
about  fifty  years,  but,  when  the  growing  of  cotton  was 
made  profitable  by  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin,  that 
crop  took  the  place  of  indigo. 

Indian  corn  the  settlers  got  from  the  Indians.     It  was 
unknown  in  Europe.     From  it  was  made  the 

most    of    the    bread    eat- 
en by  Americans  before 

the  Revolution.  It  was 
also  shipped  to  the  West  Indies 
from  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  formed  the 
great  wheat  region  of  the  colonial  time.  These  colo- 


FARMING  AND    SHIPPING  IN    THE    COLONIES. 


IOI 


nies  sent  wheat,  flour,  and  "  hard-tack "  bread  in 
large  quantities  to  the  West  Indies  and  the  coun- 
tries on  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Many  thousands 
of  great  country  wagons  were  employed  in  bring- 
ing grain  to  Philadelphia.  Potatoes  had  been 
brought  to  Europe  probably  from  South  America ; 
but  they  were  unknown  to  the  Indians  in  what  is 
now  the  United  States.  They  were  taken  to  Vir- 
ginia at  the  first  settlement  of  Jamestown.  Potatoes 
were  not  planted  in  New  England  fields  until  1718. 


It 


was  thought  that,  if  a  man  were  to  eat  potatoes  every 
day  for  seven  years,  he  would  die. 

Cattle  and   hogs  were   brought  from    England   very  cattle,  hogs,  and 

horses. 

early,  and  were  grown  by  thousands  in  the  colonies. 
For  the  most  part  they  ran  in  the  woods,  having  marks 
on  them  to  show  to  whom  they  belonged.  Many  cattle 
grew  up  without  marks  of  ownership,  and  were  hunt- 
ed as  wild.  There  were  "cow-pens"  established  for 
raising  cattle  in  the  wilderness,  something  like  the 
"  ranches  "  in  the  Western  country  to-day.  The  horses 
of  that  day  were  small  and  hardy.  When  not  in  use 
they  ran  at  large  in  the  woods,  and  some  of  them  quite 
escaped  from  their  owners,  so  that  after  a  while  there 
came  to  be  a  race  of  wild  horses.  It  was  accounted 
rare  sport  to  ride  after  a  wild  horse  until  he  was  tired 
out,  and  so  to  capture  him. 

The  English  plow  of  that  time  was  very  heavy,  and 
drawn  by  six  horses  or  as  many  oxen.  Efforts  were 
made  to  introduce  this  to  the  colonies,  but  it  was  not 
suited  to  a  new  country.  The  plow  most  used  in  the 
colonies  was  a  clumsy  thing,  with  thin  plates  of  iron 
nailed  over  the  rude  wooden  plowshares.  There  were 


Implements. 


102 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Fishing,  whaling, 
and  sea-going  in 
New  England. 


many  stumps  and  few  plows.     All  the  tools  were  heavy 
and  awkward. 

The  Middle  colonies  raised  wheat,  the  colonies  on 
Chesapeake  Bay  tobacco,  and  the  Southern  colonies 
rice  and  indigo;  but  the  soil  and  climate  of  New  Eng- 
land were  not  suited  to  any  agricultural  staple  of 
great  value.  So  the  New-Englanders  were  driven 
to  follow  the  sea.  They  built  a  great  many  ships, 
some  of  which  they  sold  to  English  merchants ; 
others  they  used  in  fishing  for  codfish  and  mack- 
erel. These  fisheries  became  very  profitable  to 
them.  When  the  Long-Islanders  discovered  the  art 
of  taking  whales  along  the  coast,  the  New  England 
people  learned  it,  and  became  the  most  prosperous 
whalers  in  the  world.  The  products  of  their  fish- 
eries were  sent  to  many  countries,  and  New  Eng- 
land ships  were  seen  in  almost  every  sea.  Boston  and 
Newport  were  the  chief  New  England  seaports. 

The  people  of  New  York  also  built  many  ships  which 
were  remarkable  for  their  great  size  and  the  long  voy- 
ages they  made.  But  before  the  Revolution  New  York 
was  not  so  large  a  town  as  Boston.  Philadelphia,  which 
was  started  later  than  the  other  leading  cities,  grew  fast, 
and  became  the  greatest  of  all  the  cities  in  the  colonies. 
But  Philadelphia  contained  only  about  thirty  thousand 
people  when  the  Revolution  broke  out. 

There  were  many  pirates  on  the  coast,  who  some- 
times grew  so  numerous  and  bold  as  to  interrupt  trade. 
Some  of  them  were  caught  and  hanged. 

Captain  William  Kidd,  of  New  York,  was  sent  out 
in  1695  to  put  down  the  pirates  that  infested  the  Indian 
Ocean.  The  expense  of  his  outfit  was  borne  by  certain 


FARMING  AND    SHIPPING   IN    THE    COLONIES.        IQ^ 

gentlemen  in  America  and  England,  who  were  to  share 
his  spoils.  Not  falling  in  with  an}'  pirates,  he  took  to 
piratical  ways  himself.  When  he  came  back  to  America 
he  was  arrested  by  Lord  Bellemont,  Governor  of  New 
York  and  New  England,  and  sent  to  England  for  trial 
and  execution.  In  1717,  Steed  Bonnet  and  Richard 
Worley,  two  pirates  with  their  crews,  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  River  in  North  Carolina, 
whence  they  committed  great  depredations  on  the  com- 
merce of  South  Carolina.  Colonel  Rhett,  of  South 
Carolina,  pursued  Bonnet  into  Cape  Fear  River,  and, 
after  a  fight,  captured  him  and  thirty  of  his  men.  They 
were  tried  and  hanged  at  Charleston.  Governor  John- 
son, of  South  Carolina,  took  another  vessel  and  attacked 
Richard  Worley  and  his  pirates,  who  fought  until  all 
were  dead  but  Worley  and  one  man,  and  these  were 
taken,  desperately  wounded,  and  hanged. 

One  of  the  most  infamous  of  all  the  pirates  of  the   Blackboard, 
coast  was  Edward  Teach,  who,  under  the  name  of  Black- 
beard,  made  himself  the  terror  of  all  seamen  on  the  coast 
from    Philadelphia    southward.      He    had    his    refuge 
also    in    the    shallow    waters    of    the    North    Carolina 
coast.     A   little   more  than  a  year  after  the  over- 
throw of    Bonnet,   Lieutenant   Maynard  sailed  from 
Virginia  and  fought  Blackbeard  in  Ocracoke  Inlet. 
After  a  hand-to-hand  struggle  all  the  pirates  were 
killed  or  wounded,  and    Maynard    sailed   back  with 
Blackbeard's  head  hanging  at  his  bowsprit.     So  many 
of   the  pirates  were  captured  in  the  next  half-dozen      P.RATE 
years  that  they  gave  little  trouble  afterward. 


A8   SHOWN    IN   A 
PICTURE   OF   THE   TIME. 


104 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

BOND-SERVANTS   AND    SLAVES    IN    THE    COLONIES. 

WHEN  the  English  people  came  to  this  country  they 
brought  English  ways  with  them.  In  England  at  that 
time  poor  people  had  much  less  liberty  than  now.  The 
lands  of  rich  men  were  cultivated  by  tenants,  who  not 
only  paid  rent,  but  owed  much  respect  and  service  to 
their  "  lord,"  as  they  called  the  owner  of  their  lands.  If 
these  tenants  did  not  pay  their  rent  faithfully,  they  could 
be  punished.  Many  of  the  people  sent  to  Virginia  at 
first  were  tenants,  who  were  expected  to  work  on  other 
people's  land  in  a  sort  of  subjection.  They  were  to  pay 
half  of  all  they  produced  to  the  land-owner,  and  they 
were  bound  to  stay  on  the  land  for  seven  years.  Ten- 
ants were  also  sent  to  Maryland,  and  the  Dutch  estab- 
lished the  same  system  in  New  York. 

Besides  tenants  of  this  sort,  there  were  sent  to  Vir- 
ginia people  of  a  poorer  class,  who  were  called  "in- 
dentured servants."  Those  sent  at  first  were  poor  boys 
and  girls  picked  up  in  the  streets,  and  bound  to  serve 
until  they  were  of  age.  After  a  while  there  were  sent 
to  Virginia  and  to  New  England  adult  servants,  bound 
to  serve  for  seven  or  ten  years,  but  afterward  they  were 
only  required  to  serve  four  years  to  pay  their  passage. 
This  way  of  getting  laborers  became  very  common,  and 
many  thousands  of  poor  men,  women,  and  children,  were 
sent  over  in  this  temporary  bondage.  During  the  time 
.GUSH  FARM  LABORER,  of  their  service  they  could  be  bought  and  sold  like 
CENTURY™  slaves.  They  were  often  whipped  and  otherwise  cruelly 


BOND-SERVANTS  AND    SLAVES. 


105 


treated    when   they   chanced  to   fall   into   the   hands   of 
hard-hearted  masters. 

There  were  people  in   England   at   that   time  called  "Spirits"  and 

"crimps." 

"spirits"   and    "crimps."      By    many   false   stories   they 


KIDNAPPING   A    MAN    FOI)    THE    COLONIES. 


persuaded  poor  men  to  go  to  the  colonies  as  servants. 
Sometimes  the  crimps  entrapped  a  man  aboard  ship, 
where  he  was  detained  and  carried  off  to  the  colonies 
against  his  will.  This  was  called  "  trapanning "  a  man. 
They  often  kidnapped  or  "  spirited "  away  children 


IO5  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

and  sold  them  into  service  in  the  colonies.  Sometimes 
people  who  wished  to  inherit  an  estate  sent  away  the 
true  heir  and  had  him  sold  in  America.  One  lad,  who 
would  have  been  Lord  Annesley,  was  entrapped  on  ship- 
board by  his  uncle  and  sold  into  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
twelve  years  in  bondage,  after  which  he  returned  to 
England  and  proved  his  right  to  the  lordship,  though  he 
died  before  he  came  into  possession  of  it. 
Great  number  of  Bond-servants  were  in  some  places  called  "  redemp- 

bond-servants,  or 

"redemptioners."  tioners.  About  lo/o  fifteen  hundred  of  them  were  sold 
in  Virginia  every  year.  In  Pennsylvania  the  men  who 
took  droves  of  redemptioners  about  the  country  and 
peddled  them  to  the  farmers  were  called  "  soul-drivers." 
Many  thousands  of  German  emigrants  were  brought  to 
America  by  ship-captains  from  Holland  and  sold  into 
a  temporary  bondage  in  Pennsylvania.  Many  of  the 
bond-servants,  when  their  time  was  out,  got  land  and 
grew  rich.  But  the  lot  of  the  poor  man  was  much 
harder  in  that  time  than  in  our  day. 

convict-servants.  The  English  laws  in  old  times  were  very  severe 
against  small  crimes.  A  man  could  be  hanged  for  steal- 
ing bread  to  satisfy  his  hunger.  Many  people  sentenced 
to  death  for  small  offenses  were  pardoned  on  condition  of 
their  going  to  the  colonies.  In  America  convicts  were 
sold  for  seven  years.  The  Americans  complained  bit- 
terly that  such  bad  people  were  forced  on  them,  and 
one  witty  American  writer  offered  to  send  a  present  of 
American  rattlesnakes  for  the  king's  garden  in  return 
for  his  convicts. 

introduction  of  In  1619,  the  year  that  the  Great  Charter  reached  Vir- 

slaves. 

ginia,  there  came  a  Dutch  ship  into  James  River,  which 
sold  nineteen  negroes  to  the   planters.     They   were  the 


BOND-SERVANTS  AND    SLAVES. 


107 


first  slaves  in  America.  In  that  day  it  was  thought  right 
to  make  slaves  of  negroes  because  they  were  heathens ; 
but  for  a  long  time  the  number  of  slaves  that  came  into 
the  colonies  was  small.  White  bond-servants  did  the 
most  of  the  work  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  until  about 
the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  high  price 
of  tobacco  caused  a  great  many  negroes  to  be  brought. 
About  the  same  time  the  introduction  of  rice  into  South 
Carolina  created  a  great  demand  for  slaves. 

There  were   slaves   in  all   the   colonies.     But  in  the  Distribution  of 
colonies  far  to  the  north  there  was  no  crop  that  would 
make  their  labor  profitable.     Negroes  in  New  England 
were  mostly  kept  for  house-servants.     In  New  York  city 
and  in  Philadelphia  there  were  a  great  many,  but  not 
many  in  the  country  regions  about  these  cities,  where 
wheat,  which    was    the    chief   crop,    did    not    require 
much    hard    labor.     The   larger   number   of   negroes 
were  taken  to  the  colonies  which  raised  tobacco, 
rice,  and    indigo.      Negroes   were  especially  fitted 
to  endure  a  hot  and  malarial  climate.      After  the 
Revolution,  slavery  was  abolished  in  the  colonies 
that  had  few  negroes.     But,  where  almost  all  the 
labor  was  done  by  slaves,  it  was  much  harder  to 
get   rid   of    slavery.      This    led    to    the    difference 
between    free    and    slave    States,    and    at    last   to 
civil  war. 

The  slaves  at  first  did  not  speak  English,  and  they  character  of  the 

slaves.     Insurrec- 

practiced  many  wild  African  customs,  especially  at  the  tions. 
burial  of  their  dead.     Some  of  them  were  fierce,  and  the 
white  people  were  afraid  of  them.     Great  harshness  was 
used  to  subdue  them.     The  negroes  often  made  bloody 
insurrections,  which  were  put  down  with  great  severi- 


8IR   JOHN    HAWKINS, 
THE    FIRST    ENGLISH    SLAVE- 


our 


I0g  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

ty.  One  of  these  was  in  New  York  city  in  1712. 
Twenty-four  negroes  were  put  to  death  on  this  oc- 
casion, some  of  them  in  the  cruel  ways  used  in  that 
time.  In  1740  there  was  an  uprising  of  slaves  in 
South  Carolina,  and  a  battle  between  them  and  the 
white  people,  in  which  the  negroes  were  routed.  In 
1741,  on  a  bare  suspicion  of  intended  insurrection,  thirty- 
three  slaves  were  executed  in  New  York,  thirteen  of 
them  by  fire.  Like  severity  was  shown  in  other  colo- 
nies, for  people  were  more  cruel  in  that  day  than  in 
later  times. 

Many  of  the  Indians  were  reduced  to  perpetual 
slavery.  These  were  usually  the  captives  spared  after 
Indian  wars.  They  were  often  shipped  from  one  colony 
to  another,  so  as  to  remove  them  from  a  chance  of 
communicating  with  wild  Indians  who  spoke  the  same 
language  or  belonged  to  allied  tribes  with  themselves. 
But  the  Indians  did  not  bear  slavery  so  well  as  the 
Africans,  and  the  most  of  them  perished  from  hard 
labor,  severe  punishment,  and  the  loss  of  the  liberty 
which  an  Indian  prizes  above  everything. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

LAWS    AND    USAGES    IN    THE    COLONIES. 

OUR  forefathers  brought  many  curious  old  customs 
and  laws  from  England.  The  laws  of  that  time  were 
very  meddlesome.  Men  were  punished  for  lying,  which 
nowadays  we  think  is  only  to  be  cured,  if  it  can  be  cured 
at  all,  by  good  example  and  good  teaching.  A  fine  was 


LAWS  AND    USAGES  IN    THE    COLONIES.  IOg 

imposed  on  profane  swearing  by  the  laws  of  nearly  all 
the  colonies ;  in  New  England  the  tongue  of  the  swear- 
er was  sometimes  pinched  in  the  opening  of  a  split 
stick.  In  all  the  colonies  there  were  laws  about  keep- 
ing the  Sabbath  ;  in  many  of  them  there  were  punish- 
ments for  not  going  to  church.  In  New  England 
the  Sunday  laws  were  rigorously  enforced,  and  the 
Sabbath  was  made  to  begin  at  sunset  on  Saturday 
evening,  at  which  hour  all  work  must  cease.  The 
people  were  at  first  called  to  church  by  beating  a 
drum  in  the  streets.  For  more  than  a  hundred 
years  after  the  settlement  of  Massachusetts,  people 
were  not  allowed  to  sit  on  Boston  Common  on 
Sunday,  or  to  walk  in  the  streets  except  to  church, 
or  to  take  a  breath  of  air  on  a 'hot  Sunday  by  the 
sea-shore  directly  in  front  of  their  own  doors.  Two 
young  people  were  arrested  in  Connecticut  for  sitting 
together  on  Sunday  under  a  tree  in  an  orchard. 

In  the  first  meeting-houses  in  New  England  the  men  At  church, 
and  women  usually  sat  apart,  and  the  children  were 
put  in  the  gallery.  Men  with  rods  in  their  hands  kept 
the  boys  and  girls  in  order  during  the  long  service, 
and  a  tithing-man  kept  the  grown  people  awake  in  the 
church  below.  This  he  did  in  some  places  with  a  rod, 
which  had  a  ball  on  one  end  and  a  fox-tail  on  the 
other.  With  the  ball  he  tapped  any  man  found  asleep, 
but  if  a  woman  forgot  herself  and  took  a  little  nap, 
she  was  awakened  by  the  fox-tail  brushing  her  face. 
In  the  Northern  States  the  churches  had  no  fire  in 
them,  but  little  foot-stoves  were  carried  to  meeting. 
In  all  the  colonies  people  were  seated  in  church  ac- 
cording to  their  dignity  or  wealth.  The  pew  of  a  Gov- 


I  IO 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Laws  against 
scolding  and 
drunkenness. 


ernor  or  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  often  had  some 
sort  of  ornament  on  it  as  a  mark  of  distinction. 

If  men  were  punished  for  swearing,  women  were 
also  forbidden  to  be  too  free  with  their  tongues.  In 
Virginia  and  some  other  colonies,  women,  for  scold- 
ing or  slander,  were  put  upon  a  ducking-stool  and 
dipped  in  the  water — to  cool  them  off,  perhaps.  In 
New  England  they  were  gagged  and  set  by  their 
own  doors,  "for  all  comers  and 
goers  to  gaze  at."  Drunk- 
ards were  sometimes  obliged  to 
wear  a  red  letter  D  about 
their  necks,  and 
other  offenses 
were  punished 
by  suspending 
a  letter,  or 


THE    DUCKING-STOOL 


Other  curious 
punishments. 


Standing    with 

the  head  and  hands  fast  in  the  pillory,  to  be  pelted 
with  eggs  by  the  crowd,  and  sitting  with  the  feet  fast 
in  the  stocks,  were  forms  of  punishment.  In  some  places 
there  were  cages,  in  which  criminals  were  confined  in 
sight  of  the  people.  Punishments  in  the  pillory  and 
stocks,  or  in  a  cage,  were  inflicted  on  some  occasion  of 


LAWS  AND    USAGES  IN    THE    COLONIES. 


I  I 


public    concourse — a    lecture-day    or    a    market-day — to 
make  the  shame  greater.      More  severe  than  stocks  or 
pillory  were   the    custom- 
ary punishments  of  whip- 
ping  on    the    bare    back, 
cropping    or    boring    the 
ears,  and    branding  the 
hand   with   a   hot   iron.     -4 
There  were  also  some- 
times, for  great  crimes, 
cruel   punishments   of 
burning  alive,  or  hang- 
ing  alive   in  chains, 
but  these  were  very  ^   - 

rare. 

Our  forefathers  were 
more  superstitious  than  people 

THE   STOCKS. 

are    now,    and    they    were    very 

much  afraid  of  witches.  This  foolish  belief  in  witch-  charms  against 
craft  prevailed  both  in  England  and  America.  People 
sometimes  nailed  up  horseshoes,  or  hung  up  laurel- 
boughs  in  their  houses,  to  protect  themselves  from 
magic  charms.  When  butter  would  not  come  for 
churning,  red-hot  horseshoes  were  dropped  into  the 
milk  to  "burn  the  witch  out."  When  pigs  were  sick 
and  thought  to  be  bewitched,  their  ears  and  tails  were 
cut  off  and  burned.  There  were  people  tried  in  almost 
every  colony  for  witchcraft.  In  England  and  in  many 
other  countries,  executions  for  witchcraft  were  more 
common  than  in  any  of  the  colonies.  In  England  and 
in  America  old  women  were  sometimes  put  into  the 
water,  to  find  out  whether  they  were  witches  or  not.  If 


112 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  Salem  witch- 
craft excitement. 


Religious  perse- 
cution in  the  col- 
onies. 


a  woman  were  a  witch  she  would  float ;  if  not,  she  would 
go  to  the  bottom,  according  to  the  popular  belief. 

Of  the  many  excitements  about  witchcraft  in  the 
colonies,  the  one  that  went  to  the  furthest  extreme  was 
that  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1692.  So  great  was  the 
agitation  that  the  most  serious  people  lost  their  self-pos- 
session, and  some  poor  folks  even  believed  themselves 

to  be  witches,  and 
confessed  it.  In 
the  fright  and 
indignation  that 
prevailed,  twen- 
ty persons  were 
executed,  and  the 
jails  were  crowd- 
ed with  the 
accused.  One 
fourth  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Sa- 
lem moved  away, 
afraid  either  of 
the  witches  or 
of  being  charged 

With          witchcraft. 

At  length  reason 

returned,  the  prisoners  were  released,  and  there  was  the 
deepest  grief  that  the  fanaticism  had  gone  so  far.  There 
has  never  been  an  execution  for  witchcraft  in  this  coun- 
try from  that  day  to  this,  though  there  are  still  some 
ignorant  people  who  believe  in  such  things. 

In  most  of  the  colonies  there  was,  at  some  time,  per- 
secution for  religious  opinions.  In  Virginia,  only  the 


LAWS  AND    USAGES  IN    THE    COLONIES.  jj^ 

Church  of  England  form  of  worship  was  allowed  at 
first,  and  Catholics,  Puritans,  Quakers,  Presbyterians, 
and  Baptists  were  persecuted.  In  Massachusetts,  for 
a  long  time,  only  the  Puritan  or  Congregational  wor- 
ship, as  set  up  by  law,  was  allowed.  Those  who 
advocated  other  doctrines  were  punished,  and  many 
Quakers  were  whipped,  and  some  of  them  even  put 
to  death,  for  coming  back  after  they  had  been  ban- 
ished. Lord  Baltimore  wished  to  give  toleration  in 
Maryland  to  all  who  believed  in  Christ,  but  the  law- 
makers of  Maryland  afterward  made  laws  to  annoy 
those  who  were  of  Lord  Baltimore's  own  religion — the 
Roman  Catholic.  Roger  Williams,  who  was  banished 
from  Massachusetts  for  his  opinions,  founded  what  is 
now  called  Rhode  Island,  on  the  plan  of  entire  lib- 
erty in  religious  matters.  He  went  further  than  Lord 
Baltimore,  and  gave  to  Hebrews  and  to  unbelievers 
the  same  liberty  with  Christians.  In  Pennsylvania, 
where  the  Friends  or  Quakers  were  in  the  majority, 
there  was  toleration ;  and  persecution  ceased  in  all 
the  colonies  before  the  Revolution. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE  SPANIARDS  IN  FLORIDA  AND  THE  FRENCH  IN  CANADA. 

HITHERTO  we  have  spoken  only  of  English  colonies  French  and  span- 
in  North  America,  but  a  great  part  of  the  history  of  the 
English  colonies  consisted  in  conflicts  with  the  neighbor- 
ing  colonies  of   other  nationalities.     We   must   now  go 


U^  HISTORY   OF    THE  UNITED    STATES. 

back  for  a  moment  and  glance  at  the  rise  of  these  estab- 
lishments of  France  and  Spain  in  North  America. 

In  1513,  twenty-one  years  after  Columbus  made  his 
great  discovery,  Ponce  de  Leon,  an  old  Spanish  ex- 
plorer, set  sail  from  the  island  of  Porto  Rico  to  dis- 
cover a  land  reported  to  lie  to  the  northward  of  Cuba, 
and  which  had  somehow  come  to  be  called  Bimini.  It 
was  said  to  contain  a  fountain,  by  bathing  in  which  an 
old  man  would  be  made  young  again.  On  Easter  Sun- 
day Ponce  discovered  the  mainland,  which  he  called 
Florida,  from  Pascua  Florida,  the  Spanish  name  for 
Easter  Sunday.  In  1521  Ponce  tried  to  settle  Florida, 
but  his  party  was  attacked  and  he  was  mortally  wounded 
by  the  Indians,  without  ever  finding  the  fountain  of 
youth.  Florida  was  then  believed  to  be  an  island.  After 
the  death  of  Ponce  de  Leon,  other  Spanish  adventurers 
explored  the  coast  from  Labrador  southward,  and  even 
tried  to  find  gold-mines  and  plant  colonies  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  country. 

The  most  famous  of  these  expeditions  was  that  of 
Hernando  de  Soto,  a  Spanish  explorer,  who  reached 
Florida  in  1539.  He  marched  through  Georgia,  Ala- 
bama, and  Mississippi.  He  was  determined  to  find 
some  land  yielding  gold,  like  Mexico  and  Peru.  But 
he  treated  the  Indians  cruelly,  killing  some  of  them 
wantonly,  and  forcing  others  to  serve  him  as  slaves. 
The  savages,  in  turn,  attacked  him  again  and  again, 
until  his  party  was  sadly  reduced.  De  Soto  tried  to 
descend  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
but  at  the  mouth  of  the  Red  River  he  died  of  a  fever. 
His  body  was  buried  in  the  Mississippi,  to  keep  the 
Indians  from  disfiguring  it  in  revenge.  A  few  of  his 


THE    SPANIARDS  IN  FLORIDA.  jjr 

followers  reached  the  Gulf  and  got  to  the  Spanish  set- 
tlements in  Mexico. 

By  virtue  of   these  explorations  the    Spaniards   laid  st-  Augustine 

founded. 

claim  to  the  whole  continent  of  North  America.  In 
1565  a  Spanish  party  under  Menendez  arrived  in  Florida. 
They  put  to  the  sword  the  members  of  a  French  Hu- 
guenot colony  already  planted  there,  and  then  laid  the 
foundation  of  St.  Augustine,  forty-two  years  before  the 
first  permanent  English  colony  landed  at  Jamestown. 
St.  Augustine  is  thus  the  oldest  city  in  the  United 
States.  But  the  Spaniards  were  too  busy  in  Mexico 
and  in  Central  and  South  America  to  push  their  settle- 
ments farther  to  the  north,  though  they  were  very  jeal- 
ous of  the  English  colonies,  and  especially  of  South  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia. 

In  1524  an  Italian  named  Verrazano  explored  North  verrazano-s 
America  from  about  the  region  of  North  Carolina  to 
the  coast  of  Newfoundland.  As  Verrazano  had  been 
sent  out  by  Francis  I,  King  of  France,  to  discover  a 
way  to  China,  the  French  claimed  a  great  part  of  North 
America  by  virtue  of  his  discoveries. 

Ten  years  after  Verrazano's  voyage,  a  French  cap-  career's  voyages, 
tain  named  Jacques  Cartier  was  sent  by  Francis  I  to  find 
a  way  to  China  and  the  East  Indies,  which  was  at  that 
time  the  chief  motive  for  all  explorations.  Cartier  ex- 
amined the  coasts  of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador.  The 
latter  was  found  so  barren  that  it  was  thought  to  be  the 
land  allotted  to  Cain.  On  this  voyage  Cartier  got  into 
the  bay  now  called  the  Bay  of  St.  Lawrence ;  but  he 
returned  to  France  without  discovering  the  magnificent 
river  of  that  name.  The  next  year  he  returned  and 
entered  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  hoping  that  he  might 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Champlain 
founds  Quebec. 


find  a  way  by  fresh  water  to  get  through  to  the  other 
side  of  the  land,  and  so  to  China  and  India.  He  reached 
Quebec,  the  Indian  inhabitants  of  which  dressed  some 
of  their  men  up  like  devils  to  frighten  Cartier  from  going 
farther  up  the  river.  But  he  pushed  on  in  small  boats 
to  Montreal,  where  there  was  a  fortified  Indian  town, 
and  where  he  was  well  received.  An  effort  was  made 
to  plant  a  French  colony  in  Canada  in  1541,  but  the 
attempt  was  defeated  by  many  misfortunes. 

Sixty   years   passed   before   the  French   again   made 
serious  efforts  to  colonize  in  the  part  of  America  which 
they  called  New  France.     Then,  in  1603,  new  exertions 
were  made  under  the   leadership  of   one  of   the  most 
remarkable   men   of    his   age,   Samuel    de    Champlain, 
who  became  the  founder  of  Canada.     After  some  in- 
effectual attempts  to  plant  on  the  coast,  and  many 
careful   explorations,    Champlain   founded    Quebec 
in   1608,  the  year  after  Jamestown  was  planted  in 
Virginia.     As  the  Jamestown  colony  lived  by  pro- 
ducing tobacco,  Quebec  existed  from  the  first  on  the 
profits  of  a  successful  Indian   trade.      It  was   always 
the  capital  of  the  vast  establishments  of  the  French  in 
America. 

Son"Ci1nethe1°inTe-         The  French>  like  the  English,  were  trying  to  find  the 
rior-  Pacific  Ocean,  and  they  were  much  more  daring  in  their 

explorations  than  the  English  colonists,  whose  chief  busi- 
ness was  farming.  A  French  explorer  named  Joliet 
reached  the  Mississippi  in  1673,  and  another  French- 
man, La  Salle,  explored  the  great  country  west  of  the 


QUEBEC    IN    CHAMPLAIN'S   TIME, 
AFTER   A    DRAWING    BY    HIM. 


THE   FRENCH  IN   CANADA. 


117 


Alleghany     Mountains,    and    discovered    the    Ohio. 
After  many  disasters  and  failures,  La  Salle  succeed- 
ed   in    reaching    the    mouth    of    the     Mississippi. 
Father    Hennepin,    a    priest,    explored    the    upper 
Mississippi.      The  French  then  laid  claim  to  all 
the    country    west    of    the    Alleghanies.      Over 
this  region  they  established  posts  and  mission- 
houses,  while  the  English  contented  themselves 
with  multiplying  their   farming  settlements   east 
of  the  mountains.     To  make  sure  of  their  title,  the 
French,  in   later   times,  buried   metal   plates   at   certain 
points  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  on  which  were  engraved 
the  claim  of  their  king  to  the  country. 

When  La  Salle  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  Founding  of  LOU- 

.  .       isiana  and  of 

he  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Louis  French  posts 
XIV,  and  called    it   Louisiana,  in  honor  of    that    king,  Jeans'  e 
The    settlement   of   Louisiana  was  begun  in  1699.     The 
French  held  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi,  the 
two  great  water-ways  to  the  heart  of   North  America, 
and  they  controlled  most  of  the  Indian  tribes  by  means 
of  missionaries  and  traders.      They  endeavored  to  con- 
nect Canada  and  Louisiana  by  a  chain  of  fortified  posts, 
and  so  to  hold  for   France  an  empire,  in  the  heart  of 
America,  larger  than  France  itself. 

But  the  weakness  of  the  French  in  America  lay 
in  the  fewness  of  their  people.  Canada,  the  oldest 
of  their  colonies,  was  in  a  latitude  too  cold  to  be  a 
prosperous  farming  country  in  that  day.  Besides,  its 
growth  was  checked  by  the  system  of  lordships  with 
tenants,  which  some  of  the  English  colonies  had  also 
tried.  But  inferior  as  the  French  were  in  numbers, 
they  were  strong  in  their  military  character,  for  they 


FRENCH  GENTLEMAN 
OF  THE  TIME. 


n8 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


COUREUR    DES    BOIS, 

OR   WANDERING    FUR-TRADER 

OF  CANADA. 


weakness  and       were  almost  all  soldiers.     The  English  were  divided  into 

strength  of  the 

French  in  Amer-    colonies,  and  could  never  be  made  to  act  together ;   but 
the  French,  from  Canada  to  the  Mississippi,  were  abso- 
lutely subjected  to  their  governors. 

The  French   were  also  rendered  terrible  to  the 
English   colonies    by.  their   skill   in    controlling   the 
Indians.     The  great  business  of  the  French  in  Can- 
ada was  the  fur-trade,  and  this  was  pushed  with 
an  energy  that  quite  left  the  English  traders  be- 
hind.     The   French  drew  furs  from  the  shores  of 
Lake   Superior  and   from   beyond    the    Mississippi. 
The  French  traders  gained  great  influence  over  the 
Indians.     The  English  treated  the  Indians  as  in- 
feriors ;  the  French  lived  among  them  on  terms 
of  equality,  and,  in  many  cases,  intermarried  with 
them.     The   French  also   gained   control  of  the 
Indian  tribes  by  means  of  missionary  priests,  who  risked 
their  lives  and  spent  their  days  in  the  dirty  cabins  of 
the  savages  to  teach  them  religion.     The  powerful  Iro- 
quois  confederacy,  known  as  the  "  Five   Nations,"  and 
afterward  as  the  "  Six  Nations,"  sided  with  the  English, 
and  hated  and  killed  the  French.     They  lived  in  what 
is  now  the  State  of  New  York.     But  the  most  of  the 
tribes  were  managed  by  the  French,  who  sent  mission- 
aries to  convert  them,  ambassadors  to  flatter  them,  gun- 
smiths to  mend  their  arms,  and   military  men  to  teach 
them  to  fortify,  and  to  direct  their  attacks  against  the 
settlements  of  the  English. 

MISSIONARY    PRIEST. 


LONQ-HOUSE 
OF   THE    IROQUOIS. 


The  French  in- 
fluence over  the 
Indians. 


THE   FRENCH  IN  CANADA.  !  j  g 

The  wars  between  the  French  colony  in  Canada  and  subjects  of  dis- 
the  English  colonies  in  what  is  now  the  United  States  French  and  Eng- 

,11  T-.  j     T-,  Hsh  in  America. 

were  caused  partly  by  wars  between  France  and  Eng- 
land in  Europe.  But  there  were 
also  causes  enough  for  enmity  in  the 
state  of  affairs  on  this  side  of  the 
ocean.  First,  there  was  always  a 
quarrel  about  territory.  The  French 
claimed  that  part  of  what  is  now 
the  State  of  Maine  which  lies  east 
of  the  Kennebec  River,  while  the 
English  claimed  to  the  St.  Croix. 
The  French  also  claimed  all  the 
country  back  of  the  Alleghanies. 
With  a  population  not  more  than 

one  twentieth  of  that  of  one  of  the  English  colonies, 
they  spread  their  claim  over  all  the  country  watered  by 
the  lakes  and  the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi,  includ- 


FRENCH    CLAIM 
IN    THE    PRESENT 
STATE   OF    MAINE. 


PRESENT   TERRI- 
TORY  OF   THE 
UNITED   STATES, 
SHOWING    BY  WHOM 
IT   WAS    CLAIMED 
BEFORE    1763. 


120 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


ing  more  than  half  of  the  present  United  States.  Sec- 
ond, both  France  and  England  wished  to  control  the 
fisheries  of  the  eastern  coast.  Third,  both  the  French 
and  the  English  endeavored  to  get  the  entire  control  of 
the  fur-trade.  Fourth,  the  French  were  Catholics  and 
the  English  mostly  Protestants.  In  that  age  men  were 
very  bigoted  about  religion,  and  hated  and  feared  those 
who  differed  from  them. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

COLONIAL  WARS   WITH   FRANCE 'AND   SPAIN. 

"King  William's  THERE  were  four  wars  with  the  French  during  the 
colonial  time.  The  first  was  called  "  King  William's 
War,"  from  William  III,  King  of  England.  It  lasted 
from  1689  to  1697.  In  this  war  the  first  severe  blow 
fell  on  the  settlements  of  Maine,  where  the  Indians  in 
the  French  interest  attacked  the  settlers  in  June,  1689, 
paying  old  grudges  by  torturing  their  victims.  But  the 
French  did  not  escape.  The  Iroquois  Indians  were  in 
alliance  with  the  English,  and  had,  besides,  their  own 
reasons  for  taking  revenge  on  the  French.  In  this  same 
summer  of  1689  they  attacked  the  settlements  about 
Montreal  at  daybreak,  and  killed,  in  their  horrible  way, 
two  hundred  people,  and  carried  as  many  more  into 
captivity. 

Frontenac.  These  ravages  of  the  Iroquois,  carried  almost  into  the 

town  of  Montreal,  created  a  panic  in  the  whole  French 
colony,  which  had  been  almost  ruined  by  bad  govern- 


COLONIAL    WARS    WITH  FRANCE   AND    SPAIN. 


121 


ment  since  their  former  governor  Count  Frontenac  had 
been  removed.  The  King  of  France  found  it  necessary 
to  send  Frontenac,  who  was  now  in  his  seventieth  year, 
to  encourage  the  Canadians  and  carry  on  the  war  with 
the  Iroquois.  The  old  governor  resolved  to  show  the 
power  of  Canada,  not  by  striking  the  Iroquois,  but  by 
striking  past  them,  so  as  to  make  the  English  settlements 
feel  the  terror  suffered  by  the  French.  He  thought  by 
such  acts  to  win  the  respect  and  perhaps  the  friendship 
of  the  Iroquois. 

Frontenac  sent  out    three  war -parties  composed  of  Destruction  of 

Schenectady.    I 

French  soldiers  and  Canadian  Indians.  One  of  these 
parties  marched  against  Schenectady,  and  the  story  of 
this  expedition  will  serve  to  give  us  a  notion  of  the 
general  character  of  many  attacks  that  occurred  about 
this  time.  The  march  was  made  in  winter  through 
deep  snows,  the  French  and  Indians  enduring  incred- 
ible hardships. 

"  They  marched  for  two-and-twenty  daies 

All  through  the  deepest  snow, 
And  on  a  dismal  winter  night 

They  strucke  the  cruel  blow." 

So  runs  one  of  those  old  ballads  by  which  our  fore- 
fathers celebrated  such  bloody  occurrences.  The  town 
of  Schenectady  was  surrounded  with  palisades,  through 
which  there  were  two  gates.  But  so  secure  were  the 
inhabitants,  defended,  as  they  thought,  by  hundreds  of 
miles  of  snow-drifts,  that  the  gates  were  open  and  the 
whole  town  fast  asleep.  When  warned  to  keep  watch, 
the  people  had  made  light  of  the  matter  by  constructing 
snow  images  of  sentinels  at  each  gate.  The  French  and 
Indians  scattered  themselves  all  through  the  town  in 


122 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


small  parties,  so  as  to  waylay  the  doors  of  every  house 
to  prevent  escape.  Then  the  war-whoop  was  raised, 
and  the  work  of  slaughter  began.  Men  and  women 
alike  were  shot  and  tomahawked  ;  on  children  no  am- 
munition was  wasted — they  were  killed  by  being  dashed 
against  the  door-posts  of  the  houses  or  thrown  into  the 
fire.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  were  outraged,  and  the 
village  was  set  in  flames.  The  Indians  in  the  town,  to 
the  number  of  thirty,  belonging  to  the  Mohawk  tribe 
of  Iroquois,  were  spared  and  sent  home,  in  order  to 
detach  their  tribe  from  the  English  interest.  Sixty  of 
the  inhabitants  were  killed  in  this  attack.  Some  escaped 
out  of  their  beds  and  ran  toward  Albany,  sixteen  miles 
away.  Part  of  these  perished  of  cold,  and  some  got  to 
Albany,  with  the  loss  of  limbs  from  frost.  A  number 
were  carried  into  a  midwinter  captivity. 

other  assaults.  The  French  party  now  had  equal  hardships  to  get 

back.  Seizing  forty  of  the  best  horses  they  could  get, 
they  hastened  away ;  but  they  suffered  from  hunger,  and 
they  were  overtaken  when  almost  at  home  by  a  party  of 
Mohawks,  and  fifteen  or  more  were  killed.  Another  of 
Frontenac's  parties  of  French  and  Indians,  after  strug- 
gling for  three  months  through  the  snow,  attacked  Sal- 
mon Falls,  in  New  Hampshire,  at  daybreak.  The  peo- 
ple made  a  brave  resistance ;  but,  after  thirty  of  them 
had  been  killed,  the  rest  surrendered  and  were  taken  to 
Canada.  Another  party  attacked  a  post  on  Casco  Bay, 
in  Maine,  where  the  city  of  Portland  now  stands,  capt- 
ured and  destroyed  it. 

colonies  combine         These  successes  of  the  French,  so  far  from  disheart- 

for  defense. 

ening  the  English,  only  roused  them  to  revenge.  They 
now  felt  the  evil  of  their  division  into  separate  colo- 


COLONIAL    WARS    WITH  FRANCE   AND    SPAIN. 


I23 


nies,  and  in  1690  a  congress  of  commissioners  from 
several  colonies  met  in  New  York  to  consider  the  best 
means  of  carrying  on  the  war  with  some  sort  of  united 
action.  This  congress,  which  foreshadowed  the  ulti- 
mate union  of  the  English  colonies,  planned  an  invasion 
of  Canada. 

In  accordance  with  this  plan,  Sir  William  Phips  took  Attempt  to  take 

Quebec. 

Port  Royal,  in  Nova  Scotia.  Two  expeditions  were  sent 
against  Quebec  :  the  one  from  New  York  and  Connecti- 
cut was  ordered  to  go  by  Lake  Champlain ;  the  other, 
from  Boston,  under  Sir  William  Phips,  was  sent  in  a  fleet 
of  thirty-four  ships.  The  expedition  by  way  of  Lake 
Champlain  fell  a  victim  to  dissensions  among  its  officers 
and  to  discontent  of  the  Indian  allies,  and  retired  with- 
out even  embarking  on  the  lake.  Phips  reached  Que- 
bec, but  found  it  impregnable  to  his  force. 

The  management  of  a  horde  of  undisciplined  Indians  Peter  schuyier. 
is  always  a  matter  of  delicacy  and  difficulty,  demanding 
a  peculiar  tact.     Among  the  English  there  was  one  man 
at   this   time  who  was   capable  of   controlling 
the   Iroquois.      This  was    Peter   Schuyier,  the 
first    mayor   of    Albany.      At    this 
time   Albany    was    peopled    almost 
wholly    by    those    who    spoke    the 
Dutch   language,  settlers  who  had 
come     from     Hol- 
land    while     New 
York  was  a  Dutch 
province,  or   their 
descendants.  Colo- 
nel   Peter    Schuy- 
ier    was     of     this 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Schuyler  invades 
Canada. 


Colonel  Schuy- 
ler's  expedition 
against  the 
French. 


Dutch  race.  He  had  been  born  in  Albany  while  it  was 
a  Dutch  post  and  a  center  of  the  Indian  trade,  and  he 
had  grown  up  with  a  knowledge  of  the  manners  and 
speech  of  the  neighboring  Iroquois  and  a  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  the  savages  themselves.  The  Indians 
had  great  confidence  in  "  Quider,"  as  they  pronounced 
his  name. 

In  1691  Schuyler  led  a  party  of  white  men  and  Mo- 
hawks against  Canada.  He  attacked  and  got  the  better 
of  a  body  of  French  and  Indians  of  double  the  number 
of  his  own  ;  and  when  after  this  success  he  found  himself 
intercepted  by  a  strong  body  of  the  enemy,  who  lay 
between  his  soldiers  and  their  canoes,  he  called  to  his 
men  that  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  fight  or  die 
there.  After  a  struggle  of  an  hour  he  broke  the  French 
line,  got  into  their  rear,  and,  turning  on  them  again,  at 
length  defeated  them,  regained  his  canoes,  and  returned 
home. 

Schuyler  did  what  he  could  to  prevent  Indian  cruel- 
ties. He  was  shocked  to  find  that  his  hungry  Mohawks 
were  eating  the  French  they  had  killed.  The  whole  con- 
test was  made  up  of  barbarities  and  miseries  without 
result,  until  peace  between  France  and  England,  in 
1697,  brought  a  little  welcome  repose  to  the  colo- 
nists of  both  nations  after  eight  years  of  war  and 
massacre. 

In   1702  began  what  .was  known  as  "Queen 
Anne's  War."      In   this  contest  England    fought 
against   Spain   as  well  as  France.     South   Caro- 
lina was   involved  in  a  war  with  the    Spaniards 
and  Indians  of   Florida,  while  the  Northern  colo- 
nies  were    struggling    against   Canada.      The    Gov- 


COLONIAL    WARS    WITH  FRANCE   AND    SPAIN. 


125 


ernor  of  South  Carolina  made  successful  inroads  upon  "Queen  Anne's 

War  " 

the  Florida  Indians,  but  he  could  not  capture  St.  Au- 
gustine. Port  Royal,  in  Nova  Scotia,  was  again  taken 
from  the  French  in  1710,  but  the  attempts  made  to  take 
Quebec  were  once  more  a  failure. 

In   1700  Peter  Schuyler  took  five  Iroquois  chiefs  to  "The  Five  In- 
dian Kings"  in 

England  as  ambassadors  in  order  to  keep  the  Iroquois  London.   Indian 
faithful  to  the  English.     These  chiefs  were  made  much 
of  in  London,  where 
they     were     called 
"  The    Five    Indian 
Kings."      The 
was  not- 
able for 
the  hor- 


rible    onslaughts   of 

the  Canada  Indians  on  some  of  the  towns  of  the  North- 
ern frontier.  Deerfield,  in  western  Massachusetts,  was 
destroyed  in  1704,  and  more  than  a  hundred  of  its  in- 


126 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


GATEWAY   A 
8T.    AUGUSTII 


habitants 
carried      into 

captivity.     The  war  lasted 

TJCT""  about  eleven  years.     A  treaty 

was  made  in  1713,  and  there  was  a 
long  peace  between  France  and  Eng- 
land. But  the  intrigues  of  both  powers  with  the  sav- 
ages continued,  and  even  in  times  of  peace  with  France 
New  England  had  many  bloody  engagements  with  the 
Indians  of  Maine,  who  were  under  the  influence  of  the 
French. 


COLONIAL    WARS    WITH  FRANCE   AND    SPAIN. 


127 


In    1740,   during   a   war   with    Spain,    General    Ogle-  ogiethorpe  and 
thorpe,  the  founder  of  Georgia,  tried  to  conquer  Flor-  Florida, 
ida,    but   the   fortifications   of    St.   Augustine   were    too 
strong  for  him.     Two  years  later  the  Span- 
iards invaded  Georgia,  but  Ogiethorpe  ma- 
noeuvred his  little  force  with  so  much  skill 
as  to  lead  the  Spanish  into  ambuscades  and 
defeat  them  at  every  point. 

In  1744  the  war  between  England  and 
France,  known  as  "  King  George's  War," 
began.  At  that  time  many  French  priva- 
teers were  sent  out  to  plunder  New  Eng- 
land ships.  These  privateers  came  out  of 
Louisbourg,  a  French  stronghold  on  Cape 
Breton  Island.  Governor  Shirley,  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, sent  against  this  place  four  thousand  un- 
trained New  England  militia.  They  were  commanded  "Kine  George's 

War"  and  the 

by  a  merchant,  and  their  officers  did  not  know  even  the  first  capture  of 

Louisbourg. 

meaning  of  military  terms.  But  they  made  up  in  cour- 
age and  enthusiasm  for  their  inexperience.  The  Ameri- 
cans had  few  cannon,  but  their  favorite  amusement  had 
always  been  target-shooting,  and  the  deadly  skill  with 
which  they  used  their  muskets  made  it  almost  im- 
possible for  the  French  to  work  their  guns.  The  ex- 
citement over  this  contest  put  a  stop  to  almost  all 
kinds  of  business  in  the  Eastern  colonies,  and  when  at 
length  the  powerful  fortress  surrendered  to  a  little 
army  of  farmers  and  mechanics,  there  was  no  end  of 
joy  in  New  England.  This  was  the  chief  victory  of 
the  war,  and  it  gave  the  American  troops  confidence  in 
themselves.  At  the  peace,  concluded  in  1748,  England 
returned  Louisbourg  to  the  French  in  exchange  for 


I2g  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

advantages  elsewhere.  This  was  a  bitter  disappoint- 
ment to  the  New-Englanders,  who  called  the  day  of  its 
surrender  a  "  black  day,  to  be  forever  blotted  out  of  New 
England  calendars." 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT,  AND  THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE 
ACADIANS. 

Washington  sent         THE  French  made  use  of  the  years  that  intervened 
th«  Preach  fort*,   between   the    peace  of    1748    and    the    outbreak    of    hos- 
tilities in  1754  to  draw  a  line  of  posts  along  the   Ohio 
and  near  to  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  intending  to  con- 
fine the  English  to  the  country  east  of  the  Alleghanies, 
.  and  to  secure  to  themselves  the  whole  of  the  great  inte- 
rior valley.      This  was    especially  exasperating  to   Vir- 
ginia,  which    claimed    the    western    country.      George 
Washington,  then  a  young  man  of  twenty-one,  who  had 
already  spent  much  time  on  the  frontier  as  a  surveyor, 
was  sent  into  the  wilderness  by  the  Governor  of  Virginia 
as  an  ambassador  to  urge  the  French  to  depart  peaceably. 
This  errand  the  athletic  and  cool-headed  young  man  ac- 
complished, in  spite  of  great  hardships  and  dangers. 
Washington's  The   French  officers  were  very   much  impressed  by 

embassy. 

Washington,  and  showed  him  many  courtesies,  though 
they  tried  to  persuade  his  Indians  to  leave  him.  On  his 
return  a  French  Indian  tried  to  kill  him  by  firing  at  him, 
and  then  pretending  that  his  gun  had  gone  off  accident- 
ally. The  Indian  was  caught,  and  Washington's  com- 


SHADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


I29 


panion,  Gist, 
would  have  killed 
him,  but  Washington 
let  him  go.  But  he  and 
Gist  were  obliged  to  travel 
on  foot  all  night  and  all  the 
next  day  to  avoid  pursuit. 
They  found  the  Alleghany 
River  filled  with  floating  ice. 
The  two  travelers  built  a  raft  and  endeavored  by  this 
means  to  ferry  themselves  across,  but  the  ice  caught 
the  pole  with  which  Washington  was  pushing  and  threw 
him  into  the  river.  He  caught  hold  of  the  raft  and 
drew  himself  out.  He  and  Gist  were  obliged  to  pass 
the  night  on  an  island,  and  Gist  was  badly  frost-bitten. 
Washington  got  back  to  Williamsburg  in  January,  and 
the  story  of  his  adventures  produced  a  great  excite- 
ment in  the  little  capital,  and  became  the  chief  topic  of 
talk  in  the  plantation-houses  of  Virginia. 

The  governor  was   like   the  man  in   the   fable    who  Washington  trie* 

to  expel  the 

tried  soft  words  at  first,  but  threw  stones  when  nothing  French. 


130 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


else  would  drive  the  thievish  boys  from  his  apple-tree. 
The  year  after  Washington's  embassy — that  is,  in  1754 — 
Washington  was  sent  as  a  major  at  the  head  of  some 
troops  to  dislodge  the  French,  who  had  built  a  post 
at  the  head  of  the  Ohio,  where  Pittsburg  now  stands. 
This  they  called  Fort  Duquesne.  Washington  found 
the  French  too  strong  for  his  force,  but,  by  surprising 
and  defeating  a  skulking  party  of  them,  he  brought 
on  a  great  war  between  France  and  England,  which 

the  French  wished  to 
postpone.     Washing- 
ton was  himself  after- 
ward attacked   by  a 
superior   force,    and 
compelled  to  capit- 
ulate    and     retire 
from  the  disputed 
ground. 

In  1755  Gen- 
eral Braddock, 
an  Eng- 
lish 


^ 


officer, 

marched  from 
Virginia  in 
command  of 

expe-  an  army  of  English  regulars  and  colonial  militia,  to  drive 
the  French  from  Fort  Duquesne.     Braddock  was  brave 


BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 


and  honest,  but  harsh  and 
brutal    in    manners.      He 
could  not  understand  the 
nature    of    a    war   in     the 
woods.     Like   other    Eng- 
lish  officers   of    the    time, 
he  despised  the  American 
militia  and  their  half-Indian 
ing.      He  thought   it   cowardice 
behind  a  tree  or  to  crouch   by 


way 


to 


a  log 


THE  DOTTED  LINE  SHOWS  BRADDOCK'S 
MARCH  FROM  FORT  CUMBERLAND, 
ON  THE  POTOMAC,  TOWARD  FORT 
DUQUE6NE. 


fire.  He  insisted  on  training  the  colonial 
militia  to  fight  in  European  fashion,  though 
his  whole  march  was  through  a  forest 
where  it  was  impossible  to  form  a  battalion. 

When   only   eight   miles    from    Fort    Duquesne,   the  Braddock     • 

attacked. 

French  and  Indians  attacked  Braddock's  army.  The 
scarlet  coats  and  solid  ranks  of  the  soldiers,  who  ad- 
vanced waving  their  hats  and  crying  "  God  save  the 
king ! "  made  a  good  target  for  Indian  marksmen,  and 
the  English  were  mowed  down  by  the  deadly  fire  that 
came  from  trees  and  gullies  where  no  enemy  was  to  be 
seen.  The  British  soldiers,  though  brave  enough,  were 
unused  to  such  warfare,  and  unable  to  do  anything  to 
repel  the  unseen  foe.  After  standing  huddled  together 
for  three  hours,  they  broke  and  fled.  The  Virginians, 
whom  Braddock  had  despised,  had  stood  their  ground 
for  a  while,  fighting  behind  trees  like  the  Indians ;  but 
Braddock,  esteeming  this  cowardly,  ordered  them  to 
"  come  out  in  the  open  field  like  Englishmen,"  and  even 
struck  some  of  them  with  the  back  of  his  sword. 

General    Braddock   exposed    himself  fearlessly.     He  Braddock  defeat- 
ed and  killed. 

had   four  horses  killed  under  him,  and  was  on  the  fifth 


1T>2  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

when  he  was  mortally  wounded.  George  Washington, 
who  was  the  only  officer  on  Braddock's  staff  not  killed 
or  wounded,  behaved  with  admirable  courage.  He  had 
two  horses  shot  under  him,  and  four  bullets  pierced  his 
clothes.  Nearly  all  the  officers  of  Braddock's  army  were 
killed  or  wounded,  and  the  soldiers  who  escaped  the 
slaughter  fled  back  to  Fort  Cumberland  in  a  wild  panic. 
In  the  same  summer  with  Braddock's  defeat  came 
the  removal  of  the  Acadians.  Acadia  was  the  name 
of  the  region  now  included  in  the  provinces  of  Nova 
Scotia  and  New  Brunswick.  It  had  been  settled  by 
the  French  about  one  hundred  years  when  the  English 
conquered  it  in  1710,  during  Queen  Anne's  War.  The 
people  were  a  very  ignorant  peasantry,  who  contin- 
ued to  speak  French  and  to  take  sides  secretly  with 
their  own  nation  in  every  struggle  between  the  two 
countries,  though  they  had  lived  forty-five  years  under 
English  rule.  In  this  war  the  hard  resolution  was  taken 
to  scatter  the  Acadians  through  the  various  English 
colonies.  They  were  seized  and  put  on  board  vessels 
and  sent  away  ;  their  houses  and  barns  were  burned, 
and  their  lands  confiscated.  Their  sufferings  have  ex- 
cited pity  even  to  our  own  times,  and  have  been  made 
the  subject  of  Longfellow's  poem  of  "  Evangeline," 
which  is  a  story  of  the  time  : 
"  When  on  the  falling  tide  the  vessels  departed, 
Bearing  a  nation  with  all  its  household  gods  into  exile, 
Exile  without  an  end,  and  without  an  example  in  story, 
Scattered  were  they  like  flakes  of  snow,  when  the  wind 

from  the  northeast 

Strikes  aslant  through  the  fogs  that  darken  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland." 


EXPULSION   OF    THE   ACADIANS. 


133 


Some  of  the  Acadians  got  to  Louisiana,  some  to  Can- 
ada, and  some,  after  great  hardships,  made  their  way 
back  to  Acadia ;  others  were  scattered  in  various 
places. 

Almost  the  whole   of   this  year's   operations  of   the  Battle  of  Lake 
British  and  colonial  troops  ended  in  failure.     Sir  Will- 
iam Johnson  was  sent  to  capture  Crown  Point,  a  French 
fort  on  Lake  Champlain.     His  raw  forces  succeeded  in 
beating  off  the  French  in  the  battle  of  Lake  George ; 
but  Johnson,  who  was  no  soldier,  did  not  even  at- 
tempt   to    go    farther,   and    Crown    Point   was    not 
attacked.     General   Shirley  set  out  to  capture  the 
French  fort  at  Niagara,  but  he  was  outgeneraled 
by  the  French,  and  did  not  reach  it. 

The  statesmen  who  governed  England  at  this 
time  were  very  incompetent.  The  colonies  were 
divided  by  factions  and  jealousies,  many  of  the 
colonial  governors  were  incompetent,  and  the  war 

in    America    was    carried    on    with 
half-heartedness  and  stupidity. 

Lord  Loudon  was  sent,  in  1756,  capture  of  Fort 

William  Henry, 

to   command    the   troops   in   Amer-  and  massacre  of 

T  T       i     •  i        •  T          •    i_  part  of  the  gar- 

ica.      He  laid  siege  to  Louisbourg  rison. 
in   1757,  but  failed  to  take  it.     For 
this  movement  he  drew  away  many 
of  the  troops  that   had  protected 
the  New  York  frontier.    Aware  of 
this,  the  French,  under  Montcalm, 
besieged  and  captured  Fort  Will- 
iam Henry,  at  the  south  end  of 
Lake  George.     By  the  terms  of  ca- 
pitulation the  colonial  troops  were 


SIR    WILLIAM 


LORD    LOUOON. 


134 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


to  be  allowed  to  return  home,  but  after  they  had  sur- 
rendered the  fort  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French  fell 
on  them  and  killed  a  great  many.  Others  they  seized 
and  carried  off,  while  Montcalm  besought  them  and 
threatened  them  in  vain.  The  great  disgrace  of  the 
American  wars  in  the  last  century  was  the  use  of  sav- 
age allies  by  civilized  nations. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

FALL    OF    CANADA. 

IN  the  midst  of  this  war  with  France,  William 
Pitt,  afterward  Earl  of  Chatham,  became  Prime 
Minister  of  England.  He  was  one  of  the  great- 
est orators  and  perhaps  the  greatest  English 
statesman  of  his  time.  His  advancement  had 
been  retarded  by  the  jealousy  which  King 
George  II  felt  of  his  opposition  to  all  encroach- 
ments on  liberty.  But  so  great  was  his  popularity  that 
pin  conducts  the  the  king  felt  obliged  in  1757  to  intrust  the  government  to 
France  with  him.  Up  to  that  moment  the  war  had  brought  England 
only  disgrace  and  defeat.  But  Pitt  infused  his  own  fiery 
spirit  into  every  department  of  the  government.  From 
the  moment  his  strong  hand  was  felt,  the  tide  turned  in 
England's  favor  everywhere.  Pitt  made  great  changes 
in  the  conduct  of  the  war  in  America.  He  was  resolved, 
indeed,  to  take  Canada,  and  to  drive  the  French  out  of 
America,  as  the  only  means  of  winning  a  lasting  peace  in 
that  quarter.  He  chose  his  commanders  with  care,  and 


FALL    OF   CANADA. 


135 


from  the  time  he  came  to  power  the  English  colonies 
began  to  feel  some  hope  of  getting  rid  of  the  enemy  that 
had  so  long  sent  the  Indians,  like  wolves,  to  destroy  the 
defenseless  settlements. 

In  1758  the  English,  under  Amherst,  again  laid  siege 
to  Louisbourg,  that  great  fortress  which  New-Englanders 
had  once  captured.     After  a  siege  by  sea  and  land,  last-  capture  of  Lou- 
ing  nearly  two  months,  and  much  hard  fighting,  the  town  AmTefst^^ss. 
surrendered. 

In   September  of   this   same    year  the    French   fort,  capture  of  Fort 
called  Frontenac,  which  stood  where  the  town  of  Kings- 
ton in  Canada  now  stands,  and  controlled  Lake  Ontario, 
was  taken  by  an  English  expedition. 

General  Forbes,  though  so  sick  with   a  painful  and  General  Forbes 
mortal  illness  that  he  had  to  be  carried  on  a  litter,  cut  a  French  to  aban- 
road    through   the    thick    forests   on    the    Pennsylvania  quesne°r  puts- 
mountains,  marched  to  the  Ohio,  and  forced  the  French  burg  founded- 
to  abandon  Fort  Duquesne.     The  English  established  a 

fort  here  and  called  ^^~ v 

the  place  Pittsburg,  ^-^  J^^ 
in  honor  of  the  great 
prime  minister  who 
had  turned  the  cur- 
rent of  the  war  from 
defeat  to  victory, 
and  who  had  become 
the  idol  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  American 
colonies. 

The  English  army 
in  America  suffered 
one  considerable  de- 


THE    ROUTE    BY    SEA 


BETWEEN    BOSTON 


I36 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Decline  of  the 
French  power  in 
America. 


Defeat  of  the         feat  at    Fort   Ticonderoga,   on    Lake   Champlain.      Gen- 
deroga.  eral   Abercromby    had    sailed    down    Lake    George   and 

marched  through  the  woods  to  attack  Montcalm,  at 
Ticonderoga.  The  English  and  colonial  troops  tried  to 
carry  the  French  works  by  assault,  but  after  several  re- 
pulses they  retreated  in  a  panic  to  their  boats,  and  sailed 
back  to  the  fort  at  the  south  end  of  Lake  George. 

But  the  English  successes  in  1758  pushed  the  French 
in   America   far    toward    ruin.      Louisbourg,    the   great 
French  stronghold,  from  which  privateers  were  sent  out, 
was  gone,  and   by  the  fall  of  Fort  Duquesne  and   Fort 
Frontenac  the  routes  from  Canada  to  Louisiana  were 
cut  off.     The  fur-trade  of  Canada  was  destroyed,  and 
the  Indians  of  the  interior  were  no  longer  willing  to 
come  to  the  support  of  the  French,  seeing  the  English 
in  possession  of  the  main  roads  into  their  country. 
During  the  siege  of    Louisbourg,  Wolfe,  a  young 
brigadier-general,  had  attracted  much  attention  by  the 
energy  and  daring  of  his  operations.     He  was  sent  by 
Pitt  to   take   Quebec,   if   such    a    thing   were   possible. 
Quebec   is  on   a  high,   steep    bluff,  overlooking  the    St. 
Lawrence  where  that  river  is   narrow,   and   the  natural 
strength  of  the  fortress  is  very  great.     All  through  July 
and  August  of  1759,  Wolfe's  army  and  the  English  fleet 
tried  in  vain  to  find   a  weak  spot  in  the   defenses  of  the 
Canadian  stronghold,  but  the  fortress  frowned  on  them 
from  its  inaccessible  heights.     In  several  attacks  made 
at  various  points,  the  English  were  repulsed.     As  the 
season  of  storms  was  coming  on,  and  the  fleet  must 
soon  leave,  even  Wolfe  began  to  despond.     But,  in 
spite  of  sickness  and  pain,  this  heroic  man  roused  his 
army  to   make  one    more   attempt.      Meantime    Mont- 


Wolfe  attacks 
Quebec. 


FALL    OF   CAiVADA. 


137 


calm,     who 

commanded 

the    French 

forces,    was 

extremely 

vigilant.  He 

kept         his 

horses  saddled 

day  and  night  to  ride 

to  any  point  that   might   be 

assailed,  and  he  did  not  take 

off  his  clothes  for  nearly  three 

months. 

Wolfe   put   his  men  in 
boats  and  dropped  down,     • 
in  the  night,  from  the  fleet 
above  the  town  to  a  little 
bay,  now  known  as  Wolfe's 
Cove.       Twenty -four     volun- 
teers climbed  the  steep  preci- 
pice   by  a   rough   path   and 
drove  off  the  guard  at  the 
top.       When     firing      was 
heard,     the     whole     force 
landed  and  clambered  up 
the  rocky  steep,  holding 
by     bushes.       When 
morning  came,  the 
British       .soldiers 
were     in    line    of 
battle       on       the 
"  Plains  of  Abra- 


138 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


ham,"  less  than  a  mile  from 
Quebec,  where  the  French 
must  fight  or  have  their  sup- 
plies cut  off. 

Montcalm    attacked     imme- 
diately, but  his  ranks  were  bro- 
ken by  the  steady  English  fire,  and  Wolfe  led 
a   charge  in  person.      Though  twice  wound- 
ed by  bullets,  Wolfe  kept  on  until  a  shot  en- 
tered his  breast,  inflicting  a  mortal  wound.     When  told 

Defeat  of  the 

French  on  the       that  the  enemy  were  fleeing  everywhere,  he  said,  "  Now, 

"  Plains  of  Abra- 
ham."   Death  of  God  be  praised,  I  die  in  peace ! "     Montcalm,  who  was 

Wolfe  and  Mont-        ,  i      i  •  i  T 

caim.  also  mortally  wounded,  said,  "  I  am  happy  that  I  shall 


OLD   VIEW   OF 
QUEBEC. 


not  live   to   see  the   sur- 
render of  Quebec." 

Quebec    soon     capitu- 
lated, and  the  fate  of  Can- 
Fan  of  Quebec, 

1759.   Canada        ada  was  sealed.      The   French  attempted  to  retake  the 
English"  x 76^.        city  in  vain.     The  surrender  of  Montreal,  in  1760,  com- 


FALL    OF   CANADA. 


139 


pleted  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  the  English.  By  the 
treaty  between  England  and  France,  made  in  1763,  all 
the  French  possessions  in  America  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, except  a  district  around  New  Orleans,  were  ceded 
to  England. 

The  joy  in  the  colonies  knew  no  bounds.  The  peo-  Rejoicing 
pie  had  seen  their  shipping  cut  off  by  privateers,  their 
property  wasted  by  taxation,  their  paper  money  depre- 
ciated, and  their  young  men  destroyed  by  almost  con- 
tinual war.  The  frontiers  had  been  desolated  by  the 
Indians,  under  French  influence,  for  three  quarters  of  a 
century.  Now  they  looked  forward  to  peace,  and  the 
expansion  of  the  English  settlements  in  America  into  a 
vast  empire. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    COLONIAL    WARS 
WITH    THE   FRENCH. 

THE  English  and  French  regular*  wore  neat 

uniforms.  The  French  were  remarkable  a  long 
way  off  for  the  white,  the  English  for  the 
red,  which  predominated  in  their  dress.  The 
drill  of  regular  soldiers  was  careful,  and  their 

discipline  severe.  They  fought  with  great 
steadiness,  standing  up  and  facing  the  enemy, 

and  they  and  their  officers  held  in  contempt 
the  skulking  way  of  fighting  which  prevailed 

among  the  colonial  troops  on  both  sides. 


FRENCH    OFFICER. 


The  regular  sol- 
diers. 


140 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  American 
troops. 


CANADIAN    SOLDIER. 


British  officers 
and  colonial  sol- 
diers. 


INDIAN    MOCCASINS. 


The  Americans,  in  both  the  French  and  English  colo- 
nies, had  learned  to  fight  in  the  woods.  They  loaded 
their  guns  lying  on  the  ground,  and  they  fired  from  be- 
hind trees  and  stumps,  now  running  forward  and  now  re- 
treating and  charging  again.  The  regular  troops  took 
no  definite  aim,  but  fired  at  the  enemy's  line,  while 
the  colonists  were  the  best  marksmen  in  the  world,  and 
the  man  whom  one  of  them  covered  with  his  gun  was 
generally  doomed.  In  the  first  siege  of  Louisbourg  the 
victory  was  achieved  by  the  deadly  aim  with  which 
colonial  musketeers  picked  off  French  artillery-men.  At 
the  battle  of  Lake  George  it  was  said  that  the  American 
provincials  fought  in  the  morning  like  good  boys,  about 
noon  like  men,  and  in  the  afternoon  like  demons. 

The  British  officers  were  generally  incapable  of  get- 
ting on  well  with  the  American  soldiers.  They  looked 
with  contempt  on  men  who  wore  little  or  no  uniform, 
were  often  tattered,  slovenly,  and  even  barefoot,  and 
sometimes  carried  in  the  same  company  guns  of  the 
various  sorts  they  had  used  jn  hunting.  The  Amer- 
icans made  a  bad  show  on  parade,  and  refused 
to  fight  standing  up  in  close  ranks.  By  the  side 
of  the  neatly-kept,  red-coated  British  troops, 
the  American  militia  looked  shabby  enough. 
The  British  officers  holding  the  king's  commission  as- 
sumed to  command  American  officers  of  higher  rank, 
and  this  caused  a  dislike  of  the  English  to  spread 
through  the  colonies.  Pitt  ordered  that  the  American 
officers  should  take  equal  rank  with  the  British,  and 
this  order  gave  great  satisfaction  in  America. 

The  English  troops  were  rather  unfit  for  the  work 
of  fighting  in  the  woods.  "  Our  clothes,  our  arms, 


FLINT-LOCK   GUN. 


COLONIAL    WARS    WITH    THE   FRENCH. 


LORD    HOWE. 


our  accoutrements,  even   our   shoes   and    stockings,  are  English  troops  in 

,  .   .  the  woods.    Lord 

all   improper  for    this    country,      wrote    General  Wolfe  Howe's  reforms, 
from    America.       Lord    Howe,    who    was    one    of    the 
noblest    of    men    and    best    of    generals,    changed    the 
dress  of  his  men  to  fit  them  for  marching  in  the  wil- 
derness.    Hair  was  worn  long  in  that  day,  and  Lord 
Howe  cut  off  his  own  fine  head  of  hair  to  persuade 
the  men  to  sacrifice  theirs.     He  reduced  the  officers' 
baggage,  and  dismissed  the  great  company  of  washer- 
women, setting  a  good  example  by  washing  his  own 
linen  in  the  brook.     Lord  Howe  cultivated  the  friend- 
ship of  the  American  officers,  and  treated  the  soldiers 
with   great   respect.      He    was   second    in    command   to 
Abercromby,  and  was  killed  in  a  skirmish 
just     before    the    attack    on     Ticonderoga. 
The    defeat    of    Abercromby    in    the    battle 
which  followed  is   attributed   to   the   loss  of 
Lord   Howe,    who   was   the    real 
soul    of    the    army.      (See    the 
preceding  chapter.) 

It    was     impossible     to    keep 
troops    enough    in    the    field    to 
protect  the   long  frontier.      No 
one  could  tell  where  the 
Indians     would     strike, 
and  when  they  had  mas- 
sacred  a  fam- 
ily   they    es- 
caped       too 
swiftly      for 
pursuit.    The 
colonies   were 


1A2  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

driven  to  offer  rewards  for  the  scalps  of  Indians  as 
they  were  accustomed  to  pay  for  wolves'  heads.  One 
can  see  how  barbarous  their  feelings  were,  however, 
in  the  offer  of  smaller  rewards  for  the  scalps  of  Indian 
women  and  children. 

The  perils  of  the  frontier  led  to  the  formation  of  com- 
panies of  rangers,  who  fought  the  Indians  in  their  own 
way.  In  the  South  the  rangers  were  mostly  mounted 
men,  who  scoured  the  frontier  to  intercept  any  companies 
of  Indians  which  might  invade  the  settlements.  Rangers 
were  also  employed  to  assist  the  armies  in  the  field. by 
capturing  stragglers  from  whom  information  could  be 
gained,  and  by  traversing  the  woods  to  guard  against  sur- 
prise. 

One  of  these  rangers,  Major  Robert  Rogers,  became 
very  famous  for  his  daring  expeditions  in  the  region 
about  Lake  George.  He  had  many  desperate  fights  with 
the  French.  He  and  his  men  journeyed  on  skates  or 
snow-shoes  in  winter,  and  in  light  whale-boats  or  afoot  in 
summer.  His  main  objects  were  to  capture  prisoners  for 
information  and  to  annoy  the  enemy.  Once,  with  fifty 
men,  he  carried  his  light  whale-boats  six  miles  over  a 
mountain-gorge,  from  near  the  middle  of  Lake  George 
to  the  waters  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  then  rowed  with 
muffled  oars  under  the  French  fort  at  Ticonderoga,  so 
close  as  to  hear  the  sentry  give  the  watchword,  and  then 
passed  the  fort  at  Crown  Point  in  the  same  way.  He 
captured  and  sunk  two  sloops  laden  with  provisions,  hid 
his  boats,  and  got  back  afoot  to  Lake  George.  Afterward 
he  returned  and  reconnoitred  Lake  Champlain  in  his 
boats,  captured  some  prisoners,  and  again  hid  his  boats. 
This  time  the  French  found  the  boats,  and  sent  out  scouts 


COLONIAL    WARS    WITH    THE   FRENCH.  j^ 

to  find  some  water-passage  by  which  they  could  have 
come  into  Lake  Champlain,  not  suspecting  that  they 
could  have  been  carried  over.  Rogers,  when  unable  to 
capture  any  stragglers,  once  determined  to  get  informa- 
tion by  securing  a  sentinel  on  duty.  With  five  men  he 
walked  coolly  up  to  a  sentinel  near  the  French  fort. 
When  challenged,  he  answered  in  French.  Then,  when 
he  had  got  near  the  soldier,  and  the  latter  demanded,  in 


amazement,  "Who  are  you?"  he  answered,  "Rogers," 
and  took  him  prisoner.  There  is  a  tradition^that,  in  es- 
caping from  the  Indians,  he  once  threw  his  packs  down  a 
steep  rock  to  the  ice  on  Lake  George,  and  then  turned 
round  on  his  snow-shoes  and  walked  away  with  his  snow- 
shoes  reversed.  The  Indians,  seeing  the  tracks,  believed 
that  two  men  had  approached  and  slid  down  the  fright- 
ful slope.  The  place  is  still  known  as  "  Rogers's  Slide." 


ROGERS'8    SLIDE, 
LAKE   GEORGE. 


144  HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

Evil  influences  of         In   many   ways  the   French   wars  tended    to  corrupt 

the  French  wars.  .  ... 

the  people  of  the  colonies.  A  race  of  traders  secretly 
sold  arms  to  the  Indians  that  were  butchering  their  own 
people.  Another  set  of  men,  some  of  whom  were  con- 
nected with  the  government,  sold  provisions  to  the 
French.  Very  many  embarked  in  privateering — that 
is,  they  fitted  out  ships  to  capture  and  plunder  the 
merchant-ships  of  France.  This  was  only  a  kind  of  law- 
ful piracy.  Many  of  the  soldiers  who  returned  from  the 
war  had  learned  habits  of  idleness  and  dissipation. 

sorrows  of  the  The  sorrows  inflicted  on  both  the  French  and  English 

colonists  were  more  than  can  be  imagined.  The  frontier 
people  lived  in  continual  fear  of  sudden  death  by  the 
tomahawk,  or  slow  death  by  torture.  Yet  their  courage 
grew  with  their  danger. 

"Loveweirs  Of  all  the  engagements  on  the  Northern  frontier  none 

excited  so  much  interest  as  that  of  Captain  Lovewell's 
thirty-four  men  with  a  party  of  forty-two  Indians  who 
ambushed  the  white  men  near  the  present  site  of  Frye- 
burg  in  Maine.  The  fight  lasted  from  ten  in  the  morning 
till  night,  when  the  Indians  retreated.  One  half  of  Love- 
well's  party  was  killed,  including  the  captain,  who  fell  at 
the  first  fire,  and  the  young  chaplain  Frye,  who  was  left 
wounded  and  dying  in  the  woods.  This  melancholy 
struggle  was  celebrated  in  a  rude  ballad  that  became 
"  the  mostt  beloved  song  of  all  New  England."  Its  nar- 
rative of  blood  and  desperation  suited  the  gloomy 
taste  of  the  time,  and  it  was  long  chanted  by  colo- 
nial firesides. 

captivity  in  can-         In    1689    captives    taken    in    Maine    were   carried    to 

the  Indians.  Canada  and  sold  there.  From  that  time  forward  innu- 
merable people  captured  on  the  frontier  by  the  Indians 


COLONIAL    WARS    WITH    THE   FRENCH. 


were  sold  into  Canada,  enduring  horrible  sufferings  in 
their  forced  journeys  through  the  woods.  Many  of 
these  were  ransomed  by  their  friends.  Husbands  made 
dangerous  and 
sorrowful  jour- 
neys to  re- 
deem i 


WHITE   CAPTIVES 

DRIVEN    INTO   CANADA 

BY    INDIANS. 


their 

wives,   and 

parents  went  in  search  of  their  children.  Great  com- 
passion was  excited  in  New  England  for  the  captives, 
and  collections  were  frequently  made  for  their  redemp- 
tion. Sometimes  captive  children  were  reclaimed  who 
had  been  educated  in  French,  and  had  quite  forgotten 
the  language  and  the  religion  of  their  parents. 

One  of  the  first  of  many  thousands  of  captives  carried  incidents  of 

captivity. 

to  Canada  was  a  little  girl  named  Sarah  Gerrish.  An 
Indian  girl  once  tried  to  drown  her  by  pushing  her  off 
a  precipice  into  the  river,  but  she  saved  herself  by  catch- 
ing hold  of  the  bushes.  Once  she  was  so  weary  that  she 
overslept,  and  awoke  to  find  herself  alone  in  the  woods 
and  covered  with  snow.  She  followed  the  tracks  of  the 
Indians  until  she  overtook  them.  Again,  the  Indians 
built  a  great  fire,  and  told  her  that  she  was  to  be  burned, 
but  she  threw  her  arms  around  her  Indian  master's  neck 


146 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


and  begged  him  to  save  her.  She  was  sold  to  the  French 
in  Canada,  and  kindly  treated  by  them  until  she  was 
returned.  In  the  fall  of  1677  two  men,  White  and  Jen- 
nings, set  out  from  the  Connecticut  River  for  Canada, 
to  redeem  their  wives  and  children  carried  off  by  Indians. 
Without  guides  they  paddled  through  Lake  Champlain 
and  reached  Canada.  After  seven  months'  absence  they 
brought  back  about  twenty  captives  in  all.  The  people 
sent  horses  to  meet  them  at  Albany  and  bring  them  into- 
Hatfield,  where  they  were  received  with  the  greatest 
joy.  One  woman,  when  she  got  her  children  together, 
after  captivity,  found  one  of  her  sons,  a  lad  of  eleven,, 
an  Indian  in  habits,  and  not  able  to  speak  any  but  the 
Indian  language ;  while  a  daughter  of  fifteen,  who  had 
been  educated  in  a  Canadian  convent,  spoke  nothing  but 
French.  One  Pennsylvanian  got  home  just  as  the  sale 
of  his  property  at  auction  had  been  completed,  his  neigh- 
bors having  supposed  him  dead.  James  Smith,  having 
endured  six  years  of  captivity  among  the  Indians,  came 
home  a  few  days  after  his  sweetheart  had  married  an- 
other man. 

:urious  results  The  Canadians  were  generally  kind  to  the  captives 
that  fell  into  their  hands,  and  some  of  the  prisoners  were 
very  sorry  to  return.  Many  of  the  captives  remained 
among  the  savages;  one  Indian  village  contained  a  hun- 
dred white  people  carried  away  in  childhood.  These 
had  forgotten  how  to  speak  English.  Some  of  the 
Indian  tribes  doubled  their  numbers  in  the  last  French 
war  by  adopting  white  children.  Three  thousand  men,, 
women,  and  children,  were  carried  into  captivity  from 
Pennsylvania  and  the  provinces  south  of  it  in  the 
year  1756. 


COLONIAL    WARS    WITH    THE   FRENCH.  1^ 

The  colonies  did  not  immediately  have  peace.  The  Pontiac-s  war. 
Indians  of  the  Western  country  hated  the  English,  and 
the  occupation  of  the  old  French  forts  by  small  English 
garrisons  excited  their  jealousy.  Under  the  lead  of 
Pontiac,  an  Ottawa  chief,  a  great  conspiracy  was  formed 
in  1763,  the  year  of  the  peace.  Pontiac  had  arranged 
a  treaty-meeting  with  Major  Gladwyn,  the  officer  in  Fort 
Detroit.  He  and  other  chiefs  had  filed  off  the  barrels 
of  their  guns  so  as  to  carry  them  hidden  under  their 
blankets.  They  intended,  by  a  treacherous  surprise  dur- 
ing the  meeting  in  the  council-room  of  the  fort,  to  cut 
off  the  whole  garrison.  But  an  Indian  girl  revealed  the 
plot  to  the  commander,  and  the  chiefs  found  the  fort 
bristling  with  bayonets,  and  gave  over  their  assault. 
But,  a  few  days  later,  they  laid  siege  to  the  fort,  which, 
however,  succeeded  in  holding  out  for  five  months,  when 
the  Indians  abandoned  the  siege.  Many  of  the  smaller 
frontier  forts  were  taken  and  the  inmates  massacred. 
Fort  Pitt,  where  Pittsburg  now  stands,  was  at- 
tacked, but  succeeded  in  holding  out  against  the 
savages.  The  settlers  on  the  frontier  suffered 
horrible  inroads  from  the  savages.  It  became 
necessary  to  march  forces  into  the  Indian  coun- 
try. General  Bouquet,  with  five  hundred  men, 
defeated  a  large  body  of  Indians  in  a  desperate 
two  days'  battle  at  Bushy  Run,  in  Pennsylvania, 
in  1763.  "  Pontiac's  War,"  as  it  was  called,  was  brought 
to  a  close  in  1764,  and  the  frontiers  had  a  brief  rest. 
But  already  there  were  seen  the  beginnings  of  that 
great  quarrel  of  the  Americans  with  the  mother-country 
which  brought  on  the  bitter  struggle  of  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  with  new  horrors  from  fresh  Indian  wars. 


!^8  HJSTQRY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

HOW   THE    COLONIES   WERE    GOVERNED. 

Three  forms  of  THE   close   of    the    French    war   made    way    for   the 

the  colonies.         Revolution.     But,  before  we  consider  the  events  which 

led   to  the  separation  of  the  colonies  from   England,  it 

will   be  best  to  ask,  How  were  the  colonies  governed 

at   the   close   of   the   French    wars?     There  were   three 

forms  of   government   in  America — "royal,"   "charter," 

and  "proprietary." 

colonies  under  The  oldest  colony,  Virginia,  after  the  Virginia  Com- 

royal   govern- 
ments, pany  was  dissolved,  was  under  what  was  called  a  royal 

government,  because  the  king  appointed  the  governor, 
and  approved  or  disapproved  of  the  laws  that  were 
passed.  New  York  had  been  granted  to  the  Duke  of 
York  as  a  proprietary  government,  but  when  that  duke 
became  king,  as  James  II,  it  became  a  royal,  or  king's 
province.  New  Jersey  became  a  royal  colony  after  the 
king  bought  the  right  of  the  proprietors,  and  East  and 
West  Jersey  were  united.  The  two  Carolinas  were 
proprietary  governments  at  first,  but  in  1729  the  king 
bought  out  the  proprietary  rights,  and  they  became 
royal  governments.  Georgia  was  first  settled  under  a 
body  of  twenty-one  trustees,  but  in  1752  these  trustees 
surrendered  the  government  to  the  king.  In  1679 
New  Hampshire  was  separated  from  Massachusetts,  and 
became  a  royal  colony.  So  that,  after  1752,  there  were 
seven  colonies  under  royal  governments,  namely,  Vir- 
ginia, New  York,  New  Jersey,  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  and  New  Hampshire. 


HOW    THE    COLONIES    WERE   GOVERNED.  J^Q 

Three     colonies  —  Massachusetts,     Connecticut,    and  colonies  under 

charter  govern- 

Rhode  Island — were  under  charter  governments;  that  ments. 
is,  they  were  for  the  most  part  governed  by  their  own 
people,  according  to  charters  granted  by  the  king. 
Massachusetts,  after  it  lost  its  first  charter,  had  a  gov- 
ernor appointed  by  the  king,  but  the  power  remained 
mostly  in  the  hands  of  the  Legislature.  Maine  was  at- 
tached to  Massachusetts. 

Maryland  had  been  given  to  Lord  Baltimore,  Penn-  colonies  under 
sylvania   to  William   Penn.     Baltimore  and    Penn  were  emments. 
called    "  proprietors,"    or    "  proprietaries."      The    heirs 
of  these  first  proprietors  exercised  in  these  two  colo- 
nies power  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the  king 
in   the  "royal   colonies.      These  were  called  pro- 
prietary governments.     Delaware  had  been  ceded 
to   Penn  by  the   Duke  of   York,  and,  though    it 
had    a    separate    Legislature,   it    was   under    the 
same    governor    as    Pennsylvania.      There    were,         COLONIAL  COURT-HOUSE, 

,         ,  ,-,  .  PHILADELPHIA.       BUILT    1707. 

therefore,  at  the  close  of  the  French   wars,  three 
proprietary  governments — Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Delaware. 

Each  of  the  thirteen  colonies  had  a  legislative  body,  colonial  Legis- 

b  latures. 

These  were  divided  into  two  houses.  There  was  a 
Lower  House,  or  Assembly,  elected  by  the  people.  The 
members  of  the  Upper  House,  or  Council,  were  generally 
appointed  by  the  king  in  the  royal  colonies,  and  by  the 
proprietary  in  the  proprietary  colonies.  In  the  charter 
colonies  governors  and  members  of  the  Council  were 
elected  by  the  Assembly. 

In  order   to  pass  a   law  both   houses  of   the   Legis-  HOW  laws  were 

passed  in  the 

lature  must  vote   for   it   and   the  governor  must  agree  colonies, 
to   it.     We    have   kept   the    same  rule.     Our   State  and 


jr0  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

national  laws  are  made  in  this  way  now.  The  body 
we  call  the  Senate  takes  the  place  occupied  by  the 
governor's  Council  in  the  colonies.  But  in  our  time 
the  people  elect  the  governors  and  both  houses  of  the 
Legislature.  In  nearly  all  of  the  colonies  the  people 
had  no  voice  in  choosing  the  governor  or  the  Upper 
House  of  the  Legislature.  The  people  could  not,  there- 
fore, make  laws  which  were  not  agreeable  to  the  king 
or  the  proprietary.  There  was,  consequently,  almost  a 
continual  quarrel  between  the  governors,  acting  under 
instructions  from  England,  and  the  representatives  of 
the  people, 
character  of  As  the  people  of  the  colonies  had  no  influence  in  the 

colonial  gov- 
ernors, selection  of  their  governors,  they  were  generally  un- 
worthy men.  At  first  they  were  often  the  relatives  of 
court  favorites ;  in  later  days  they  were  frequently 
selected  to  please  some  influential  man  who  could  con- 
trol the  vote  of  a  representative  in  Parliament.  Some 
of  them  were  ignorant  and  tyrannical,  some  were  dissi- 
pated, and  others  were  greedy  money-getters.  Lord 
Cornbury,  who  governed  New  York,  was  a  cousin  of 
Queen  Anne.  He  squandered  the  resources  of  the  col- 
ony, imprisoned  whom  he  pleasefl,  and  rendered  himself 
contemptible  by  occasionally/masquerading  in  women's 
clothes.  Andros,  Governor  of  New  York  and  New  Eng- 
land, was  a  tyrant  unmitigated  in  most  of  his  acts.  Many 
of  the  governors  gave  themselves  up  to  securing  a  for- 
tune by  any  means  in  their  power,  and  some  succeeded. 
Sir  William  Berkeley  in  Virginia  arrogated  to  himself 
one  third  of  the  gross  returns  of  the  Indian  trade ;  Gov- 
ernor Fletcher  in  New  York  sold  licenses  to  pirates  to 
live  unmolested  in  his  province ;  and  Governor  Eden,  of 


HOW    THE    COLONIES    WERE    GOVERNED.  jcj 

North  Carolina,  was  believed  to  be  a  partner  in  Black- 
beard's  spoils.  To  increase  their  profits  the  governors 
would  sometimes  overthrow  land-titles  already  granted, 
thus  obliging  the  owner  to  pay  them  large  fees  for  new 
grants.  Royal  governors  generally  acted  as  judges,  sit- 
ting in  the  highest  court,  and  thus  they  held  two  thirds 
of  the  authority  of  their  colony.  As  they  had  a  power 
of  appointment  to  and  removal  from  many  offices,  they 
could  do  pretty  much  as  they  pleased.  The  only  check 
on  them  was  the  right  of  the  Assembly  to  fix  the  salary 
of  a  governor  from  year  to  year.  All  the  governors 
were  not  bad  ;  some,  like  Spotswood  in  Virginia,  Robert 
Johnston  in  South  Carolina,  and  Dongan,  Bellomont, 
and  Burnet  in  New  York,  were  conspicuous  for  public 
spirit.  But  the  exasperation  which  the  colonists  felt 
toward  most  of  their  governors  was  a  source  of  aliena- 
tion from  the  mother-country. 

All  laws  regulating  the  trade  between  the  colonies  commercial  l 

made  by  the 

and  with  other  countries  were  made  by  the  English  English 
Parliament.  The  colonies  were  obliged,  often  much 
against  their  will,  to  admit  negro  slaves,  brought  in  by 
English  merchants.  They  were  forced  to  send  nearly 
all  their  leading  products  to  England  for  sale.  They 
were  not  allowed  to  buy  any  European  goods,  except  in 
England,  and  no  foreign  ships  were  allowed  to  enter  a 
port  in  this  country.  Laws  were  made  to  discourage 
people  in  the  colonies  from  making  and  trading  in  such 
things  as  were  made  in  England.  There  were  English 
laws  against  the  manufacture  of  iron-ware  and  woolen 
goods  by  the  Americans.  The  colonists  had  many  furs, 
and  could  make  hats  very  cheaply,  but  no  hatter  was 
allowed  to  send  hats  from  one  colony  to  another ;  he 


152 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


could  even  be  punished  for  load- 
ing his  hats  on  a  horse  to  carry 
them  to  another  colony. 

Custom-houses  were  established 
by  law  in  all  the  principal  ports  of 
the  colonies,  and  the  duties  were 
collected  for  the  king.  The  object 
of  these  duties  was  not  so  much  the 
revenue  derived  from  them,  as  the 
effect  of  duties  on  foreign  goods  in 
compelling  the  colonists  to  buy 
chiefly  products  of  English  manu- 
facture, and  in  enabling  the  officers 
to  exclude  goods  not  brought  from 
England.  But  the  colonists  evaded 
custom-houses  these  restrictive  laws  in  every  way  possible,  and  there 

and  smuggling. 

was  a  great  deal  of  smuggling  along  the  whole  coast. 
Goods  were  secretly  landed  in  the  lonesome  creeks 
on  Long  Island  or  in  little  bays  to  the  southward. 
Much  smuggling  was  done  by  bribing  the  customs  col- 
lectors, and  sometimes  the  governors  as  well.  Chests 
of  tea  were  often  packed  in  the  middle  of  hogsheads  of 
sugar,  and  thus  brought  in  from  the  West  India  islands 
instead  of  from  England,  as  required  by  act  of  Parlia- 
ment. Tobacco,  which  could  only  be  lawfully  shipped 
to  English  ports,  was  put  aboard  Dutch  ships  at  sea 
from  American  vessels,  or  from  little  boats  that  ran  out 
of  creeks  along  the  James  River  or  the  Chesapeake. 
The  people  thus  learned  to  disregard  the  laws  of  the 
mother-country,  and  by  the  unwise  acts  of  Parliament 
the  minds  of  the  colonists  were  prepared  for  resistance 
to  English  authority. 


EARLY  STRUGGLES  FOR   LIBERTY.  lc-j 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

EARLY    STRUGGLES    FOR    LIBERTY    IN    THE    COLONIES. 

THE  colonies  were  settled  at  a  time  when  the  Eng-  Love  of  liberty 

,.    ,  .  11-11  •     i  r    in  the  colonists. 

hsh  people  were  trying  to  establish  the  principles  of 
liberty  in  their  own  government.  Many  of  the  colo- 
nists were  driven  to  this  country  by  acts  of  tyranny. 
The  settlers  in  America  brought  with  them  the  English 
love  of  liberty.  They  were  always  ready  to  assert  their 
right  to  "the  liberties  of  Englishmen."  Then,  too,  the 
hardy,  independent  life  of  pioneer  settlers  tended  to 
cherish  the  passion  for  freedom. 

Free   government   was   first  established   in   America  £ariy  struggles 

for  liberty  in 

by  the  Virginia  charter  of  1618,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  Virginia, 
previous  chapter.  The  king,  in  dissolving  the  Virginia 
Company,  struck  a  blow  at  the  liberty  of  the  colony, 
but  the  people  strove  hard  to  maintain  their  freedom. 
When,  in  1624,  the  clerk  of  the  Virginia  Council  be- 
trayed their  secrets  to  the  king's  commissioners,  the  Vir- 
ginia Assembly  sent  him  to  the  pillory,  and  had  part  of 
his  ears  cut  off,  to  the  great  disgust  of  King  James. 
When  Sir  John  Harvey  was  Governor  of  Virginia,  he 
opposed  the  people,  and  the  Council  deposed  him  in 
1635,  and  sent  him  to  England.  King  Charles  I  was 
offended  at  their  presumption  in  deposing  a  royal  gov- 
ernor, and  he  sent  him  back  again  as  governor.  But 
the  people  succeeded  in  having  him  removed  in  1639. 

Sir  William  Berkeley,  the  royal  Governor  of  Virginia,   Bacon's  rebel- 
opposed  the  people,  and  in  1676  refused  to  allow  them  to 
make  war  on  the  Indians,  who  were  ravaging  the  front- 


154 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


THE    PILLORY, 
A6    USED    IN    AMERICA. 


iers.  This  he  did,  lest  the  large  profits  he  was  making 
out  of  the  fur-trade  should  be  reduced.  The  people  of 
the  frontier  put  themselves  under  the  lead  of  a  brilliant 


young  man,  Nathaniel  Bacon  by  name.  Bacon  belonged 
to  a  family  prominent  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  in  Eng- 
land. He  was  educated  in  the  law  at  Cambridge.  His 
habits,  like  those  of  other  young  gentlemen  of  the  time, 
had  been  extravagant,  and  he  exceeded  the  allowance 
made  him  by  his  father.  About  1673  he  went  to  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  had  a  cousin,  also  named  Nathaniel  Ba- 
con, who  was  rich  and  childless,  and  who  wished  to  make 
the  younger  Nathaniel  heir  to  his  fortune,  if  he  could 
have  persuaded  him  not  to  embrace  the  popular  cause. 
But  the  generous  heart  of  the  younger  Bacon  was 
touched  with  the  wrongs  of  the  people,  and,  though  he 
had  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  governor's  Council, 
he  yielded  to  the  request  of  the  people  and  became  their 


EARLY   STRUGGLES  FOR   LIBERTY.  ^5 

leader.  He  showed  excellent  ability,  and  he  was  idolized 
by  the  people,  who  stood  guard  day  and  night  over  his 
house  lest  he  should  be  assassinated  by  order  of  the 
governor. 

Bacon  forced  the  government  to  give  him  a  com-  Bacon  against 
mission,  and  he  got  the  Legislature  to  pass  some  good 
laws,  that  were  much  needed.  Then  he  marched 
against  the  Indians  and  drove  them  back,  to  the  great 
relief  of  the  suffering  people  of  the  frontier.  He  was 
a  good  Indian  fighter,  but,  like  most  men  of  that  time, 
he  showed  no  mercy  to  the  savages,  whose  torture 
of  their  prisoners  had  awakened  the  most  violent  re- 
sentment. In  fighting  the  Indians  he  caused  his  men  to 
stand  so  close  to  their  fort  that  they  could  fire  through 
the  port-holes,  and  yet,  by  standing  at  one  side,  escape 
the  fire  of  the  Indians. 

When  Bacon  got  back  from  the  Indian  war  and  had  siege  and  de- 
dismissed  a  part  of  his  men,  he  found  that  Berkeley  had  Jamestown, 
proclaimed  him  a  rebel,  and  taken  measures  to  have  him 
arrested.  With  a  little  handful  of  men,  he  marched 
swiftly  on  Jamestown,  which  was  garrisoned  by  a  force 
five  times  as  strong.  As  he  passed  along  the  road  the 
people  brought  out  food  to  refresh  his  soldiers,  and  the 
women  cried  after  him,  "  General,  if  you  need  help,  send 
for  us!  "  He  promptly  threw  up  a  trench  on  the  narrow 
neck  of  land  that  connected  Jamestown  with  the  main- 
land, and,  after  a  week  of  siege,  he  took  it  and  burned 
it  to  the  ground. 

Governor    Berkeley   fled    to    the    Eastern    Shore    of  Virginia  under 
Chesapeake  Bay,  and  the  people  of  Virginia,  except  the 
few  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  bay,  took  an  oath  to  sup- 
port Bacon,  hailing  him  as  a  deliverer. 


156 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Bacon's  death.  But  Bacon  was  worn  out  by  the  cares  and  exposures 

of  the  Indian  war  and  the  Jamestown  siege,  and  he  soon 
died.  His  body  was  secretly  buried  by  his  friends,  who 
sunk  it  in  the  waters  of  the  river,  in  order  that  his  ene- 
mies might  not  dig  up  his  bones.  The  only  document 
to  be  found  that  appears  to  have  been  written  by  Bacon's 
own  hand  is  signed  "  Nathaniel  Bacon,  General,  by  con- 
sent of  the  people" — so  that  he  was  something  of  a 
republican,  though  he  lived  a  hundred  years  before  the 
Revolution.  With  all  the  vigor  of  his  measures,  he  was 
ever  lenient  to  his  foes.  When  he  was  dead,  his  enemies 
testified  that  he  was  "  not  bloody-minded."  His  military 
and  political  devices  and  the  celerity  of  his  actions  and 
decisions  show  that  he  was  a  man  of  genius.  Indeed, 
"  Nat  Bacon,"  as  he  was  called,  is  the  most  romantic 
and  heroic  figure,  take  him  all  in  all,  of  the  colonial 
period  of  our  history. 

Berkeley's  re-  After  Bacon's  death  there  was  no  one  his  equal  to 

protect  the  cause  of  the  people.  Sir  William  Berkeley 
succeeded  after  a  while  in  reducing  Bacon's  followers, 
and  in  confiscating  for  his  own  use  much  of  their  prop- 
erty. Twenty-three  leading  men  he  put  to  death.  For 
this  severity  the  king  recalled  him  in  disgrace,  and  the 
old  despot  died  at  last  of  chagrin. 

Attempts  to  dis-          Soon  after  Massachusetts  had  been  settled,  under  the 

solve  the  Massa- 
chusetts charter,   patent   or  charter  of   the    Massachusetts   Company   (see 

charies  i.  pages  40,   41),   an   attempt   was    made   to   destroy    that 

charter  by  the  same  kind  of  a  lawsuit  that  had  been 
used  to  overthrow  the  charter  of  the  Virginia  Company. 
But  the  Massachusetts  charter  had  been  carried  to 
America,  and,  when  the  judges  in  England  sent  orders 
to  have  it  brought  back  to  be  examined,  the  rulers  of 


GOVERNOR    ANDROS. 


EARLY   STRUGGLES  FOR   LIBERTY.  l^ 

the  colony  made  excuses  until  the  troubles  in  England 
caused  the  matter  to  be  laid  aside. 

In  the  reign  of  Charles   II,  proceedings  were  again  Massachusett 
taken  against  the  Massachusetts  charter,  and  in  1686  it  oUwiiorAad 
was  dissolved.     King  James   II,  who  had  by  this  time 
come  to  the  throne,  soon  after  appointed  Sir  Edmund 
Andros  Governor  of  New  York  and   New  England. 
He    tried   in   every  way  to   overthrow   the  liberties 
of  the  colonies.     The  people  of  New  England  were 
exasperated    to   the    highest   pitch,   and    when   they 
heard  that  the  Prince  of  Orange  had  landed  in  Eng- 
land, to  overthrow  James  II,  they  rose  against   An- 
dros and  imprisoned  him,  establishing  a  government 
of  their  own.     This  was  in  1689. 

During   the   time   that   Andros  was  governor  of  all  The  charter  of 

Connecticut  hid- 

New  England,  he  had  tried  to  carry  off  the  Connecti-  den  in  an  oak. 
cut  charter.  But  it  is  said  that,  when  the  charter  was 
brought  in  and  laid  on  the  table,  the  lights  were  sud- 
denly blown  out,  and  when  they  were  lighted  the  charter 
was  gone.  It  had  been  taken  away  and  hidden  in  the 
hollow  of  an  oak-tree.  This  tree  stood  for  nearly  a  hun- 
dred and  seventy  years  after,  and  was  always  venerated 
as  "  the  Charter  Oak." 

Andros  was  supreme  Governor  of  New  York  as  well  Leisier-s  rebel- 
lion in  New  York. 

as  of  New  England.  In  New  York  there  was  also  great 
dissatisfaction  with  his  government,  and,  when  the  com- 
mon people  heard  that  Andros  had  been  put  in  prison 
in  Boston,  they  rose  against  his  lieutenant,  and  set  up 
Captain  Jacob  Leisler  for  governor.  Leisler,  who  gov- 
erned the  colony  for  more  than  two  years,  was  a  plain 
merchant,  with  no  knowledge  of  government.  He  was 
bitterly  opposed  by  the  rich  men  of  the  colony.  Though 


158 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


a  man  of  patriotism,  he  was  imprudent,  and,  after  the 
arrival  of  a  royal   governor,  his  enemies  succeeded   in 
having  him  executed  for  treason. 
Rebellion  against         The  proprietors  of  Carolina  governed  their  two  colo- 

the  proprietors  in  .    . 

south  Carolina,  nies  m  a  selfish  and  greedy  spirit,  and  were,  besides,  ig- 
norant of  the  wants  and  character  of  their  people.  The 
North  Carolinians  were  often  in  insurrection  against  the 
governors  sent  to  rule  them.  In  1719  the  people  of 
South  Carolina  overthrew  the  oppressive  government 
of  the  lords-proprietors  and  put  themselves  under  the 
authority  of  the  king,  who  bought  out  all  the  rights  of 
the  proprietors  ten  years  later. 

Legislative  re-  The  spirit   of   liberty  was  in  all   the  colonies.     The 

sistance  to  colo-  . 

niai  governors.  governors  appointed  m  England  made  continual  efforts 
to  encroach  on  the  freedom  of  the  people.  These  gov- 
ernors, as  the  direct  representatives  of  the  sovereign, 
were  able  to  engross  a  great  .deal  of  power  in  their  own 
hands,  and  to  enrich  themselves  and  their  creatures  out 
of  the  resources  of  the  colonies.  They  were  held  in 
check,  as  we  have  said,  by  the  disposition  of  the  colo- 
nial Assemblies  to  settle  the  amount  of  their  salaries 
from  year  to  year.  English  statesmen  greatly  desired 
to  have  permanent  salaries  fixed  for  the  governors,  so 
that  they  might  not  be  dependent  on  anybody  but  the 
king.  On  this  point  there  were  long-continued  quarrels 
between  the  royal  governors  and  the  Assemblies;  but, 
for  the  most  part,  the  colonies  held  the  purse-strings  in 
their  own  hands,  in  order  by  this  means  to  guard  their 
liberties. 


THE    CAUSES   OF    THE   REVOLUTION.  jrg 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

THE    CAUSES    OF    THE    REVOLUTION. 

FROM  the  preceding  chapter  it  is  evident  that  long  General  causes 

of  discontent. 

before  the  Revolution  there  was  much  dissatisfaction  in 
the  colonies.  Many  of  the  governors  sent  over  were 
tyrannical  and  dishonest.  The  Americans  did  not  like 
the  transportation  of  criminals,  nor  the  action  of  the 
British  government  in  annulling  the  laws  made  to  keep 
out  slaves.  They  were  also  much  annoyed  by  English 
laws,  which  prevented  them  from  sending  away  woolen 
goods,  hats,  and  iron-wares  of  their  own  make,  from  one 
colony  to  another.  Most  of  all,  they  disliked  the  "  navi- 
gation laws,"  the  object  of  which  was  to  compel  them 
to  do  most  of  their  trading  with  England. 

The  enforcement  of  these  unpopular  laws  was  in  the  The  writs  of 

assistance. 

hands  of  custom-house  officers.  The  collectors  of  cus- 
toms in  Boston,  in  1761,  asked  the  courts  for  "writs  of 
assistance,"  which  would  give  them  the  right  to  search 
any  house,  at  any  time,  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
smuggled  goods.  This  produced  a  great  excitement, 
and  made  the  navigation  laws  still  more  unpopular.  The 
trial  which  took  place  about  these  writs  was  a  kind  of 
beginning  of  the  quarrel  which  brought  on  the  Revo- 
lution fourteen  years  afterward. 

But  England  and  the  colonies,  while  always  carry-  The  stamp  Act. 
ing  on  a  family  quarrel,  had    little   thought  of  separat- 
ing.    Separation   would   probably   have   come  when  the 
colonies  grew  too  large  to  be  dependent,  but  this  might 
at   least   have   been   postponed    for  two   or   three   gen 


100 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Violent  oppo- 
sition to  the 
Stamp  Act. 


Career  of  James 
Otis. 


JAMES   OTIS. 


erations  if  the  men  who  ruled  England  had  not  tried 
to  tax  the  American  colonies.  Parliament  passed,  in 
1765,  what  was  known  as  "The  Stamp  Act."  This  law 
required  that  all  bills,  notes,  leases,  and  many  other 
such  documents  used  in  the  colonies,  should  be  written 
on  stamped  paper,  which  should  be  sold  by  officers 
at  such  prices  as  should  bring  a  revenue  to  the  Eng- 
lish government.  All  newspapers  were  required  to  be 
printed  on  stamped  paper. 

The  American  people  quickly  saw  that,  if  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament  could  pass  such  an  act,  they  could  tax 
America  in  any  other  way.  The  cry  was  raised  in  all  the 
colonies,  "  No  taxation  without  representation  !  "  Patrick 
Henry,  a  brilliant  speaker,  took  the  lead  in  the  agitation 
in  Virginia,  and  James  Otis,  an  eloquent  Boston  lawyer, 
was  the  principal  orator  in  Massachusetts. 

Otis  was  born  at  what  is  now  West  Barnstable,  on 
Cape  Cod,  in  1725.  After  studying  in  his  native  town 
he  went  to  Harvard  College,  where  he  was  graduated 
when  he  was  eighteen  years  old.  But,  wishing  to  lay  a 
good  foundation,  he  spent  a  year  and  a  half  more 
in  general  studies  before  he  entered  on  the  study  of 
the  law.  He  practiced  at  first  at  Plymouth  and 
afterward  in  Boston.  He  rose  to  the  highest  rank 
in  his  profession.  He  was  an  honorable  man,  and 
would  never  take  unfair  advantages  of  an  opponent. 
When  the  customs  officers  app4ied  for  "  writs  of  assist- 
ance," which  would  enable  them  to  search  any  house 
at  any  time,  it  became  the  duty  of  Otis,  as  advocate- 
general,  to  argue  in  favor  of  these  writs.  But  he 
gave  up  his  lucrative  office  and  took  the  side  of  lib- 
erty. He  made  a  great  speech,  five  hours  long,  against 


THE    CAUSES   OF    THE   REVOLUTION. 


161 


PATRICK    HENRY 


the  writs,  and  this  speech  is  considered  by  some  the 
starting-point  of   the    Revolution.      It  was   in    this 
speech  that  he  first  raised  the  popular  cry  against 
"  taxation  without  representation,"  which  was  the 
watchword    of    the    Revolution.      In   the    great 
struggle  over  the  Stamp  Act,  and  in  the  debates 
that  followed,  to  1769,  he  was  the  brilliant  leader. 
When    the    bitterness   of    the   controversy   with      ^ 
England  was  at  its  height  he  became  involved  in 
an  affray  with  several  officers  of  the  customs,  and 
was    seriously    injured.      Soon    after    this    his    mind, 
wearied  by  the  exciting  controversies  in  which  he  was 
engaged,    became   gradually    deranged,   and    he    retired 
from  public  affairs.     In   1783  he  was  killed  by  a  stroke 
of  lightning. 

Patrick    Henry  was   born  in   Hanover   County.  Vir-  Rise  of  Patrick 

Henry. 

ginia,  in  1736.  He  was  chiefly  educated  in  a  school 
taught  by  his  father.  He  read  law  and  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  In  1763  he  was  engaged  to  plead 
in  defense  of  the  people  against  a  suit  of  the  parish 
clergy.  It  was  known  as  "  The  Parsons' 
Cause."  Before  a  court,  in  which  his 
own  father  was  the  presiding  magis- 
trate, he  pleaded  the  case  of  the  people 
with  such  extraordinary  eloquence  and 
vehemence  that  the  clergymen  rose 
and  left  the  room,  Snd  Henry's 
father  wept  tears  of  triumph,  while 
the  people  carried  the  young  lawyer 
about  on  their  shoulders.  Elected 
to  the  Virginia  Legislature,  he  immediately  took  the 
lead  against  the  Stamp  Act  and  became  famous.  It 


HANOVER    COURT-HOUSE,    VIRGINIA, 

WHERE    PATRICK    HENRY    SPOKE   AGAINST   THE 

PARSONS'    CAUSE. 


j62  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

was  in  his  speech  on  the  Stamp  Act  that  he  uttered  the 
famous  words,  "  Ceesar  had  his  Brutus,  Charles  the  First 
his  Cromwell,  and  George  the  Third — '  As  Henry 
reached  this  point  his  opponents  cried  "  Treason  !  trea- 
son ! "  But  the  orator  finished  by  saying,  "  may  profit 
by  their  example,"  and  added,  "  if  that  be  treason, 
make  the  most  of  it ! "  When  pleading  for  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Virginia  militia,  before  the  Revolutionary 
War  had  begun,  he  closed  with  these  memorable  words : 
"  Is  life  so  dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased' 
at  the  price  of  chains  and  slavery?  Forbid  it,  Al- 
mighty God !  I  know  not  what  course  others  may 
take,  but  as  for  me,  give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death ! " 
Henry  was  several  times  Governor  of  Virginia.  He 
died  in  1799. 
General  oppo-  Under  the  lead  of  Otis  and  Henry  and  other  speak- 

sition  to  the  . 

stamp  Act.  ers  and  writers  of  great  influence,  the  new  movement 
against  the  Stamp  Act  became  a  tide  hard  to  resist. 
The  rivalries  and  jealousies  between  the  various  colo- 
nies died  out  in  the  new  patriotic  feeling,  and  the  ex- 
citement ran  like  a  flame  of  fire  from  New  Hampshire 
to  Georgia.  There  was  everywhere  a  call  for  union 
among  the  colonies.  A  congress  of  delegates  from 
nine  of  the  colonies  met  in  New  York  in  October, 
1765.  It  is  known  as  "The  Stamp-Act  Congress."  But 
the  people  were  too  much  excited  to  stop  at  orderly 
measures.  In  colony  after  colony  violent  mobs  com- 
pelled the  stamp-officers  to  resign.  In  some  places  the 
people  pulled  down  or  rifled  the  houses  of  British  offi- 
cials. The  authority  of  the  king  and  Parliament  was 
defied.  Not  one  man  in  "all  the  colonies  dared  to  sell 
a  piece  of  stamped  paper. 


THE    CAUSES    OF    THE   REVOLUTION. 


163 


oppression. 


Though   America   had   almost   no   manufactures,  the  The  Americans 
merchants    pledged    themselves    to    import    no    English  import  English 
goods   until   the    Stamp   Act   was   repealed.      As    black  fh°  stamp^ct. 
goods  came  from  England,  the  people  resolved  to  wear 
no  black  at  funerals,  and  they  began  to  dress  in  home- 
spun.    They  resolved,  also,  to  eat  no  more  mutton,  in 
order  to  increase  their  own  production  of  wool.     English 
merchants,    whose   trade   was   hurt   by   these   measures, 
now  joined   in  the  clamor  for  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  and  it  was  repealed  in  1766,  to  the  great  joy  of  the 
colonies. 

But  Parliament  passed  another  bill  at  the  same  time,  other  acts  of 
asserting  its   right  to   tax   the   colonies.     New  ways  of 
raising  a  revenue  in  America,  without  the  consent  of  the 
people,  were  tried.     Troops  were  quartered  in  the  colo- 
nies, and  the  people  were  required  to  pay  the  expense. 
This  the  colonies  refused  to  do.     In   1770  a  collision  took 
place  between   British   troops  and   some  inhabitants  of 
Boston.     Three   of    the    people   were  killed.     This  was 
called  "  The  Boston  Massacre."     It  excited  deep  feel- 
ing in  all  the  colonies,  and  Samuel  Adams,  the  leader 
of  the  Boston  town-meeting,  with  five  thousand  citi- 
zens at  his  back,  compelled  the  governor  to  with- 
draw the  troops  from  the  city. 

Samuel  Adams  was  a  great  Revolutionary  char- 
acter, ranking   not  a  whit    below   Henry  or   Otis  in 
his   influence   on   the   early  stages  of   the   movement. 
Adams  was  born  in  Boston  in  1722.     He  was  graduated 
at   Harvard   College  at   twenty  years  of  age.     He  was  services  of 

,          Samuel  Adams. 

already  devoted  to  liberty,  and  his  oration  when  he 
received  the  degree  of  master  of  arts  defended  the  right 
of  the  people  to  resist  the  supreme  magistrate,  "  if  the 


tax  on  tea. 


164  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

commonwealth  can  not  otherwise  be  preserved."  He 
was  one  of  the  first  to  oppose  taxation  by  Parliament, 
and  he  early  became  the  chief  organizer  and  leader  of 
the  revolutionary  movement  in  Massachusetts.  He  is 
said  to  have  proposed  the  Congress  of  1774.  When 
General  Gage  offered  pardon  to  the  Americans,  he  ex- 
cepted  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock.  Adams  was 
a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  a  principal 
advocate  of  American  independence.  He  lived  a  pure 
and  incorruptible  life,  and,  though  always  poor,  the 
king  could  not  buy  him  from  the  path  of  virtue.  He 
died  in  1803. 

opposition  to  the  Yielding  in  part  to  the  storm  in  America,  the  Parlia- 
ment took  the  tax  off  of  nearly  everything  except  tea. 
By  releasing  a  part  of  the  English  duty  on  tea  sent  to 
America,  the  government  arranged  it  so  that  the  Ameri- 
cans, after  paying  a  tax  in  America,  would  have  their  tea 
cheaper  than  before.  The  Americans  were  not  contend- 
ing for  a  little  money,  but  for  a  principle,  and  they  re- 
fused to  receive  the  tea.  They  began  to  drink  tea  made 
of  sassafras-roots,  sage,  raspberry-leaves,  yaupon,  and 
other  American  plants.  The  English  government  sent 
over  consignments  of  tea  to  the  principal  ports.  At  Bos- 
ton a  company  of  fifty  men,  disguised  as  Mohawk  In- 
dians, boarded  the  ships  and  emptied  three  hundred  and 
forty-two  chests  of  tea  into  the  sea.  This  is  known  as 
"  The  Boston  Tea-Party."  In  New  York  the  people 
emptied  a  private  consignment  of  tea  into  the  water,  and 
the  ships  which  were  sent  by  the  government  they  com- 
pelled to  go  back  to  England.  Philadelphia  also  sent  the 
tea-ships  home  again.  In  Charleston  the  tea  was  landed, 
but  purposely  stored  in  damp  cellars,  where  it  rotted  ; 


THE    CAUSES   OF    THE   REVOLUTION. 


The  Boston   Port 
Bill  and  its  effect. 


and  at  Annapolis,  a  ship  that 
had  paid   the  duty  on  a  pri- 
vate   consignment    of    tea 
was  burned  in  the  harbor. 

The  English  Parliament  pun- 
ished   Boston    by    closing    its 
port    until    the    tea     thrown    / 
overboard  should  be  paid  for. 
This   act   produced    a    great     A 
deal  of  distress  in  Boston,  by 
ruining  its  business  and  throw- 
ing its  working-people  out  of 
employment.       But     it     ex- 
cited the  sympathy  of  the 
other  colonies,  who  sent  aid 
to  its  people  and  who  resolved 
to  support  it.     A  committee  in 
New   York    immediately    suggested    that    Massa- 
chusetts  should    call   a    congress,   and    thus   the    colo- 
nies   were    finally    brought    into    a    union    against    the 
mother-country. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII.  K, 

THE  OUTBREAK  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  AND  DECLARATION     '  p 
OF  INDEPENDENCE.  *» 

».'• 

THOUGH  the  Congress  of  the  thirteen  colonies  which  >J> 

met  in   Philadelphia  in   1774  had  no  authority  to  make 

The  Congress  of 

laws,  the  people  chose  to  obey  its  recommendations  and  i774. 


i66 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


PINE-TREE    FLAG, 
USED   ABOUT    BOSTON   AT   THE 
BEGINNING   OF  THE    REVOLUTION 


to  disobey  the  governors  sent  to  them  from 
England.  The  Congress  petitioned  the  king  and 
Parliament  to  restore  their  rights.  But  mean- 
while the  colonies  organized  the  militia,  and  col- 
lected military  stores,  that  they  might  be  ready 
to  fight  for  their  liberties. 

General  Gage  was  in  command  of  the  Brit- 
ish  forces   at   Boston.      He   resolved    to   check   the   re- 
Bntish  troops       bellious    spirit    of    the    people.      He    sent    out    troops 

sent  from  Boston 

to  concord.  from  Boston  soon  after  midnight  on  April  19,   1775,  to 

destroy  some   military   stores   at   Concord,  about  twen- 
ty miles  away. 

Paul  Revere,  an  engraver  and  an  active  patriot, 
was    sent    to    tell    Samuel   Adams    and   John    Han- 
cock,  who    were    at    Lexington,    that    the    British 
were  coming.      He  waited  at  Charlestown  until  he 
saw  a  light  hung  in  a  church-steeple,  which  was 
a   signal   to   him    that   the    British    troops   were 
moving.      Then    he    rode    to    Lexington,    warning 
the  people  of  their  danger: 
"  So  through  the  night  rode  Paul  Revere, 
So  through  the  night  went  his  cry  of  alarm, 
A  cry  of  defiance  and  not  of  fear, 
A  voice  in  the  darkness,  a  knock  at  the  door, 
And  a  word  that  shall  echo  for  evermore ! " 
The   poet    Longfellow  wrote   a  famous   poem    on    Paul 
Revere's  ride,  from  which  the  lines  above  are  extracted. 
The  Americans  had  formed  companies  ready  to  be 
called  out   on  the  minute ;  these  were  called   "  minute- 
men."     At    Lexington   the    British    troops   fired    on   the 
minute-men  and  killed  eight  of  them.     At  Concord  the 
soldiers  destroyed  the  stores. 


GENERAL   GAGE 


Paul  Revere's 
ride. 


The  "minute 
men." 


THE    OUTBREAK   OF    THE   REVOLUTION. 


I67 


deroga. 


But  the  minute-men  were  now  pouring  in  from  the  The  battle  of 
whole  country,  and  the  English  troops  beat  a  hasty  re-  the  beginning  of 

,    i        i      ,  i  IT         •  T>t_        A  •  t*le  Revolution. 

treat  back  through  Lexington.     I  he  Americans,  swarm- 
ing like   maddened    bees,  attacked    them   in  the  rear, 
in   front,  and  on  both  sides.     The   minute-men   fired 
from  behind  trees,  rocks,  and  stone  fences.     The  Eng- 
lish retreated  in  a  state  of  exhaustion,  with  a  loss 
in  killed  and  wounded  of  nearly  three  hundred 
men;     the    Americans    lost    about    eighty -five. 
Messengers  on  horseback  carried  the  news  of  the 
"  battle  of   Lexington,"  as  it  was  called,  all  over 
New  England  and  into  the   Middle  and  Southern  colo- 
nies.     The    people    now    knew    that    the    war    so    long 
threatened  had  begun. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  Ethan  Allen,  at  the  capture  of -neon- 

head     of     eigh- 
ty    backwoods- 
men   from    Ver- 
mont, known  as 
"  Green    Mount- 
ain Boys,"  made 
a  sudden  descent 
on    Fort    Ticon- 
deroga,  near  the 
south  end  of  Lake 
Champlain,     En- 
tering    the     fort 
in    the    night,    he 
found  the  commander  in  bed,  and 
summoned  him  to  surrender.     "  In 
whose  name  ? "  demanded  the  of- 
ficer.     "  In   the    name    of   the   great 


i68 


.HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Th3  bat 

Euiiker 


Jehovah  and 
the  Continent- 
al Congress!" 
replied   Allen. 
With  the  fort. 
Allen          se- 
cured a  sup- 
*>!.,-••    ply  of  pow- 
der, then  very 
much  needed  by 
the  Americans. 

tie  of  After  the  battle  of  Lexington,  an  irregular  army  of 
New-Englanders  blockaded  the  English  troops  in  Bos- 
ton. A  detachment  sent  to  encamp  on  Bunker  Hill 
threw  up  breastworks  on  Breed's  Hill  instead.  Here, 
on  June  i/th,  the  British  attacked  them  with  nearly 


OUTBREAK   OF    THE  REVOLUTION. 


double   their   force,   and,    though    the    Americans    were 

farmers  who  had  never  fought,  and  had  almost  nothing 

but     fowling  -  pieces     to 

fight  with,  they  twice  re- 

pulsed the  British  regu- 

lars   with   great   slaugh- 

ter, and,  when  their  am- 

munition was  exhausted,  fought  with  the 

butts   and    barrels  of    their    guns    until 

compelled  to  retreat.     One  third  of  the 

British  force  was  killed  or  wounded,  and 

the  result  of  the  battle  was  to  give  great 

confidence  to  the  Americans,  who  have 

always  regarded  the    battle   of   Bunker   Hill,  as  it  was 

called,  more  as  a  victory  than  a  defeat. 

Meantime  it  fell  to  the  Continental  Congress,  in  ses-  Washington 
sion  in   Philadelphia,  to  elect  a  commander-in-chief  for  ^ntchTf!" 
the   new   army.     Colonel    George   Washington,   of   Vir- 
ginia, who  had  gained  distinction  for  zeal,  courage,  and 
prudence   in  the  French  and    Indian   wars,   was  chosen 
to  this  responsible  place. 

George  Washington  was  born  in  Virginia,  February  Washington 
22,  1732.     His  father  was  a  planter,  with  a  large  landed 
property  ;  his  mother  was  a  woman  of  great  force 
of   character,  but,  like  many  ladies  of   that  day, 
she  had  little  education.      Washington  got  such 
learning    as    the    poor   country   schools    of    the 
time  afforded,  but  he  made  the  most  of  it.     His 
exercise-books  are  models  of   method  and   neat- 
ness.    Besides  the  common  branches  of  reading, 
writing,    and    arithmetic,    he    learned    surveying 
and    book-keeping.      He    was    a    lad    of    great 


RATTLESNAKE    FLAG, 
USED   AT   THE    BEGINNING   OF 
THE    REVOLUTION.        IT    SOME- 
TIMES   BORE    FOR    MOTTO, 
"  DON'T    TREAD   ON    ME  I  " 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


strength,  and  took  the  lead  in  all  athletic  sports,  and  he 
became      one     i —    -— - —  .,  ^  ^  ^ — - 

of     the     best     \*&flK'z     *r™'$i>Mi  U  J 
horsemen     of 
his  time.     He 
bore        hard- 
ships       with 
great    resolu- 
tion, he  spoke 
the  truth,  he 
was     eco- 
nomical, 
indus- 

/&£  'SJ  i?    *  •'0/v,    O^  \n\-_      *        ff'Pbta 

trious,  and 
systematic  in 
/     his  habits.   He 
was,    while    yet 
hardly  more  than 
a    boy,   engaged    in 
surveying   wild   lands 
for    Lord     Fairfax,    an 
f      English    nobleman,    who 
owned  a  great  tract  of  Vir- 
ginia territory,  and  lived  in 
the    Shenandoah   Valley.      He 
thus   came   to   know  the  front- 
ier  country  and    the   habits   of 
the   Indians.      He  was  made   a 
major    of    the    militia    at    nine- 
teen, and   he    was   but   twenty- 
one  when  Governor  Dinwiddie 
sent   him   on  a   mission   to  the 


THE    OUTBREAK   OF    THE   REVOLUTION. 


171 


French  posts  on  the  Ohio,  as  we  have  told  in  another 
chapter.  By  his  prudent  conduct  in  Braddock's  and 
Forbes's  expeditions,  and  in  the  defense  of  the  Virginia 
frontier,  he  won  the  confidence  of  the  American  peo- 
ple. He  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  of 
1774.  He  was  not  a  brilliant  man,  but  even  in  1774 
Patrick  Henry  pronounced  him,  for  "  solid  information 
and  sound  judgment,  unquestionably  the  greatest  man  " 
on  the  floor  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

In  accepting  a  place  at  the  head  of  the  "  Continental  The  Engi"»h 

evacuate   Bostor 

Army,"  as  it  was  called,  Washington  declined  all  pay 
except  his  expenses.  He  set  out  for  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  took  command  on  July  3,  1775.  He 
brought  his  irregular  army  to  a  tolerable  state  of  organi- 
zation, and  closely  besieged  the  British  in  Boston  until 
March  of  the  next  year,  1776,  when  he  sent  a  strong  force 
to  occupy  and  fortify  Dorchester  Heights,  which  com- 
manded the  harbor  and  the  town.  This  compelled  the 
English  to  withdraw  their  troops  from  Boston  to  Hali- 
fax, in  Nova  Scotia. 

Up  to  this  time  the.  Americans  had  been  fighting  for  independence 
their  liberties  as  British   subjects.      Few  dreamed   that 
the  war  would  end   in  a   separation    from   the  mother- 
country.     But  now  the  people  were  everywhere  becom- 
ing weaned  from  attachment  to  England.     The  colo- 
nies, one  after  another,  formed   constitutions   inde-    jj 
pendent  of  England,  or  took  steps  looking  toward     \ 
independence.     On  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1776,  the    | 
Continental  Congress  adopted  the  "  Declaration  of     t 
Independence."     This  act  was  a  formal  separation 
of  the  united  colonies  from  England,  whose  king 

!  1      •  •  1  1      •  1  •  AI       1Mb     HLUINNINIJ    < 

was  no  more  to  be  king  in  the  thirteen  colonies.  THE  REVOLUTION. 


FLAG  BORNE  BY  AMERICAN 
TROOPS  AT  THE  SOUTH 
AT  THE  BEGINNING  OF 


172 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  Declaration  The  Declaration  says  :  "  We  hold  these  truths  to  be 

of  Independence. 

self-evident :  That  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that  they 
are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable 
rights;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pur- 
suit of  happiness."  The  Declaration  of  Independence 
gives  an  account  of  the  various  acts  of  tyranny  which 
the  colonies  had  suffered  under  the  government  of 
George  III,  and  then  says :  "  We  therefore,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  general 
Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge 
of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  in  the 
name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  good  people  of  these 
united  colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare  that  these 
united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and 
independent  States ;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all 
allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political 
connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain 
is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved  ;  and  that,  as  free 
and  independent  States,  they  have  full  power  to  levy 
war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  com- 
merce, and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  inde- 
pendent States  may  of  right  do."  This  dignified  and 
eloquent  paper  closes  with  these  solemn  words :  "  And 
for  the  support  of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance 
on  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually 
pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our 
sacred  honor." 

Jefferson.  This  immortal  paper,  perhaps  the  most  famous  state 

paper  in  the  world,  was  written  by  Thomas  Jefferson, 
who  was  born  near  Charlottesville,  Virginia,  in  1743.  His 
father  was  a  noted  land-surveyor,  and  one  of  the  authors 
of  a  map  of  Virginia,  and  he  left  an  ample  fortune. 


THE    OUTBREAK   OF    THE   REVOLUTION. 


173 


MONTICELLO  :     HOME   OF   JEFFERSON. 


Thomas  was  an  eager  student.  He  was  graduated  at 
William  and  Mary  College,  and  was  soon  recognized  as 
perhaps  the  most  accomplished  general  scholar  in  the  col- 
onies. He  was  an 
excellent  mathe- 
matician, and 
knew  Greek,  Lat- 
in, French,  Span- 
ish, and  Italian. 
There  was  al- 
most no  knowl- 
edge that  he  was 
not  eager  to  ac- 
quire. He  was  not  gifted  as  an  orator,  but  with  his 
eloquent  pen  he  rendered  great  services  to  the  cause  of 
liberty  in  America.  He  used  his  best  endeavor  to  have 
slavery  and  the  slave-trade  abolished.  He  took  the  lead 
in  the  repeal  of  the  colonial  laws  that  gave  to  the  oldest 
son  the  largest  share  of  the  father's  property.  He  was 
also  the  leader  in  separating  church  and  state,  and  giv- 
ing to  the  people  religious  freedom.  To  him  we  owe 
the  change  of  our  money  from  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence  to  a  simple  decimal  system  of  dollars,  dimes,  and 
cents.  To  him,  also,  was  due  at  a  later  period  the  pur- 
chase from  France  of  the  territory  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. Jefferson's  mind  was  one  of  the  boldest  and  most 
original  of  the  time. 

But  though  Jefferson  wrote  the  Declaration,  the  chief  John  Adams, 
advocate  of  the  independence  of  the  colonies  from  the 
earliest  period  had  probably  been  John  Adams,  who  was 
a  forcible   speaker.     Adams  was  one  of  the  committee 
which  reported  Jefferson's  draft  of  the    Declaration   to 


J74  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Congress.  Both  Adams  and  Jefferson  came  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  republic  they  had  helped  to  found,  and  by  a 
curious  coincidence  they  both  died  on  the  same  day,  and 
that  day  was  the  Fourth  of  July,  1826,  just  fifty  years 
after  the  signing  of  this  Declaration  of  Independence. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  TRENTON,  AND  THE  CAPTURE  OF 
BURGOYNE'S  ARMY. 


THE  people  received  the  Declaration  with  joy. 
A  single  year  of  war  had  destroyed  their  attach- 
ment to  England,  and  they  now  earnestly  repudiated 
the  sovereign  whose  health  they  had  but  lately  drunk 
at  all  festivities,  and  for  whose  welfare  they  had  until 


THE   BATTLE    OF    TRENTON. 


175 


recently  prayed  in  all  their  churches.  Pictures  of  the 
king  were  destroyed  ;  his  coat-of-arms  was  torn  down 
from  public  buildings  and  thrown  into  patriotic  bonfires. 
The  leaden  statue  of  George  III,  which  stood  in  Bowl- 
ing Green,  in  New  York  city,  was  run  into  bullets. 

But  the  joy  of  the  Americans  was  soon  turned  into 
anxiety.  About  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  General  Howe  landed  a  large 
body  of  English  troops  on  Staten  Island,  near  New  York, 
and  a  few  days  later  his  brother,  Admiral  Lord  Howe, 
came  with  re-enforcements. 

The  battle  of  Long  Island  was  fought  near  Brook- 
lyn, on  the  27th  of  August,  1776.  In  this  battle  the 
Americans  were  defeated,  and  Washington  withdrew 
his  troops  from  Brooklyn,  and  left 
the  whole  of  Long  Island  in  the 
hands  of  the  British.  The  Amer- 
icans were  not  strong  enough  to 
hold  New  York,  and  it  was  soon 
evacuated.  Fort  Washington,  above 
New  York,  with  two  thousand 
Americans,  was  captured  by  the 
British,  who  soon  crossed  the  Hud- 
son. Washington  was  obliged  to 
retreat,  step  by  step,  across  New 
Jersey  into  Pennsylvania,  with  the 

English  following  close  on  his  heels,  the  British  advance- 
guard  sometimes  entering  a  place  as  the  American  rear- 
guard quitted  it. 

When  the  news  came  to  Philadelphia  that  Wash- 
ington had  abandoned  New  Jersey  and  crossed  the 
Delaware,  there  was  the  greatest  alarm.  Congress,  then 


Joy  of  the  people 
at  the  news  of 
the  Declaration 
of  Independence. 


Arrival  of  an 
English  army 
near  New  York. 


ADMIRAL    LORD   HOWE. 


The  battle  of 
Long  Island,  and 
the  evacuation 
of  New  York  by 
the  Americans. 


Alarm  of  the 
Americans  at 
'Washington's 
retreat. 


1 76 


HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


THE    RETREAT 
FROM    LONG    ISLAND. 


sitting  in  Philadelphia,  adjourned  to  Baltimore.  Many 
of  the  people  of  Philadelphia  fled  in  terror  by  every 
road  or  by  such  boats  as  could  be  had.  The  army  of 
Washington,  thinly  clad,  was  dwindling  by  sickness,  and 
the  time  of  enlistment  of  many  of  the  men  had  al- 
most expired.  It  was  necessary  to  strike  a  blow  that 
would  hearten  the  people,  for  the  American  cause  was 
on  the  verge  of  ruin. 


THE   BATTLE    OF    TRENTON. 


177 


HESSIAN    TROOPER. 


The  British  government,  finding  that  Englishmen  The  Hessians, 
were  not  eager  to  fight  against  those  whom  they  es- 
teemed their  countrymen  in  America,  had  hired  a  body 
of  troops  from  one  of  the  German  princes.  These  sol- 
diers were  called  Hessians,  because  most  of  them  came 
from  that  part  of  Germany  known  as  Hesse-Cassel.  Like 
all  mercenary  troops  in  Europe  at  that  time,  these  Hes- 
sians were  in  the  habit  of  plundering  and  oppressing 
any  people  that  fell  into  their  power,  and  their  outrages 
on  the  inhabitants  of  New  Jersey  did  much  to  turn 
wavering  Americans  to  the  side  of  the  Revolution. 

About  twelve  hundred  of  these  hireling  troops  were 
stationed    in    Trenton,    New   Jersey.      On    the    night   of 

Christmas,     Washington 
crossed  the  Delaware  in  The  capture  of 

Trenton. 

open  boats  at  a  point 
above  Trenton.  It  took 
all  night  to  effect  the 
crossing  on  account  of 
ice  in  the  river,  and  it 
was  eight  o'clock  before 
the  Americans  reached 
Trenton.  After  a  sharp  battle  of  three  quarters  of  an 
hour  the  Hessians  surrendered,  and  Washington  soon 
after  prudently  recrossed  the  Delaware.  This  success 
was  a  flash  of  light  in  the  darkness,  and  the  joy  of 
the  colonists  knew  no  bounds.  The  prisoners  were 
marched  through  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  and 
one  of  the  Hessian  standards  was  hung  up  in  the 
hall  of  Congress. 

Washington   soon   crossed    the    Delaware   and    re- 
occupied   Trenton.     Lord   Cornwallis   marched   from     HESSIAN  TROOPER-S  BOOT. 


78 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


AMERICAN    FLAG, 
ADOPTED   IN    1777. 


Battle  of  Prince-  Princeton  with  3.  strong  force,  and  on  the  2d  of  Janu- 
ary, 1777,  attacked  the  Americans  east  of  that  town, 
and  drove  them  back,  fighting  step  by  step.  The  Dela- 
ware was  full  of  running  ice,  and  if  Washington  had 
been  beaten  he  could  not  have  retreated.  It  was  night 
by  the  time  Cornwallis  had  driven  the  Americans  into 
Trenton,  and  he  waited  for  morning  to  strike  a 
decisive  blow  that  was  to  have  annihilated  the 
main  army  of  the  Revolution,  and  perhaps  put  an 
end  to  the  war.  But  Washington  resolved  on  a 
bold  move.  He  threw  up  intrenchments  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy  as  though  to  defend  the  place, 
but  at  midnight  the  fires  were  replenished  and 
the  American  army  slipped  away.  By  marching 
around  Cornwallis,  Washington  got  in  his  rear,  and 
attacked  the  troops  remaining  in  Princeton,  winning  the 
battle  before  Cornwallis  could  come  up.  This  success 
compelled  the  English  to  evacuate  a  large  part  of  New 
Jersey,  and  put  new  life  into  the  American  cause. 

The   battle   of    Princeton  was    fought   on  the   3d   of 
January,   1777.      In  this  year  a  strong  force  of    British 
and   Hessians  was  dispatched  to  Canada,  to  de- 
scend from  there  by  the  old  and  often-traveled 
water-route     through     Lake    Champlain    and 
Lake  George  and  the  Hudson  River.     This 
army,   under    General    Burgoyne,    was    ex- 
pected  to   reach  Albany  and  to  form  a  junction 
with  the  British  troops  about  New  York.     The 
effect  of   this  would   have   been   to  cut   the 
colonies  into  two  parts. 

Burgoyne  compelled    General  St.  Clair  to 
evacuate  Ticonderoga,  and  captured  the  artil- 


Burgoyne's  ex- 
pedition. 


GENERAL   BURGOYNE. 


CAPTURE    OF  BURGOYNE'S  ARMY. 


179 


lery  and  all  the  stores  which  St.  Clair  Fail  of 

Ticonderoga. 

was  trying  to  move.  He  then  went 
to  Skenesborough,  now  Whitehall,  at 
the  south  end  of  Lake  Champlain. 
At  length  he  reached  the  Hudson  at 
Fort  Edward,  having  gained  complete 
control  of  Lake  Champlain  and  Lake 
George. 

But    this    was    the    end    of    Bur-  Relief  of  Fort 

.  Stanwix. 

goyne  s  successes.  An  expedition 
sent  against  Fort  Stanwix,  near  the 
present  village  of  Rome,  in  New 
York,  was  foiled  in  its  purpose.  The 
militia,  led  by  General  Herkimer, 
fought  the  severe  battle  of  Oriskany 
for  the  relief  of  the  besieged  fort. 
Herkimer,  mortally  wounded,  sat  by 
a  tree  to  give  orders  and  encourage 
his  troops.  With  the  aid  of  a  sally 
from  the  fort  the  field  was  held.  Arnold  now  marched 
to  the  relief  of  the  fort,  and  he  sent  forward  spies, 
who  gave  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  strength  of 
his  troops,  and  so  frightened  the  British  away. 
From  Fort  Edward,  Burgoyne  sent  out  a  force 
of  his  hired  German  troops  into  what  is  now 
Vermont,  to  capture  stores  and  horses.  But  the 
militia  of  western  New  England,  who,  like  almost 
all  men  in  a  new  country,  were  accustomed  to 
the  use  of  fire-arms  from  childhood,  gathered 
under  the  lead  of  General  Stark,  and  at  the  battle 
of  Bennington  utterly  defeated  the  detachment  sent 
out  by  Burgoyne. 


HESSIAN    MADE    PRISONER 
BY    MILITIAMAN. 


i8o 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Defeat  and  sur- 
render of  Bur- 
goyne. 


GENERAL   GATES. 


The    whole    Northern    country    was    up    now.      The 
ranks  of  the  army  under  General  Gates,  which  opposed 
the  march  of   Burgoyne,  were  quickly  filled   by  militia 
pouring  in  from    New  York  and    New  England.      In  a 
hard-fought   battle   at    Bemis    Heights   the   Americans 
won  a  decisive  victory  ;  Burgoyne  was  soon  hemmed 
in   on  every  side  by  the  increasing  American  force. 
He  tried   in  vain  to   get   back  to  the   lakes.      His 
retreat  was  cut  off  in  every  direction,  and  on  the 
i6th  of   October   he   surrendered    his    whole   army. 
This  victory  delivered  the  American  cause  from  the 
greatest  peril,  and   brought  joy  without  measure  to 
the  people. 


The  battle  of 
the  Brandywine, 
Sept.  ii,  1777. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

THE    DARK    PERIOD    OF    THE    REVOLUTION. 

THE  overthrow  of  Burgoyne  relieved  the  American 
cause  of   one   great  danger,  but   it  was   sorely  beset  in 
other  quarters.     General  Howe  had  taken   his  army 
around     by     sea,     and 
landed  at   the  head  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  in  or- 
der to  capture  Philadel- 
phia, which  was  then 
the  seat  of  Congress. 
Washington's  army  was 


GENERAL   SIR    WILLIAM    HOWE. 


inferior   to   the    British, 
and    he    retired    behind 


THE   DARK  PERIOD    OF    THE  REVOLUTION. 


181 


the  Brandy  wine  River,  where,  on  the  nth  of  Septem- 
ber, 1777,  was  fought  the  battle  of  the  Brandy  wine. 
The  Americans  were  forced  to  retreat,  and  the  British 
entered  Philadelphia. 

On   the  4th   of    October   Washington    attacked    the  Battle  of  Ger- 
British  at  Germantown,  near  Philadelphia,  but,  after  a  ™*".  °v 
stubborn  fight,  he  was  again  defeated. 

The  winter  of  1777-78  was  the  darkest  season  of  the  winter-quarters 
Revolution.      Washington  went   into  winter-quarters  at  *m*-j£y 
Valley  Forge.     Many  of  the  soldiers  were 
without    shoes,   and    in    their   marches 
over  frozen  ground  they  left  blood  in 
their  tracks.      Some  of  the  poor  fel- 
lows sat  up  by  the  fires  at  night,  for 
want  of  blankets  to  keep  them  warm. 

The  war  of  the  colonies  against  Arrival  of  foreign 
England  had  excited  much  sympa- 
thy in  Europe.  Many  foreign  officers 
had  come  over  to  assist  the  Americans. 
Some  of  these  were  mere  adventurers,  but  others  were 
men  of  ability  and  generous  spirit.  Count  Pulaski,  Baron 
Steuben,  and  Baron  De  Kalb  were  excellent  officers. 

But   no   other  foreign   officer   rendered    to  the 
American  cause  services  so   important  as  those 
of  the  young  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  who  was 
born  of  an  illustrious  French  family  on  the  7th 
of  September,  1757.     He  was  but  nineteen  years 
old,  with  every  prospect  which  great  wealth 
and  family  influence  could  give,  when  he 
embraced  the  cause  of  liberty  in  America. 
Against  the  command  of  the  King  of  France, 
he  freighted  a  ship  with  materials  of  war  at  his  own 


BARON    STEUBEN. 


182 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


La  Fayette. 


The  alliance 
with  France, 
1778. 


expense,  and  landed  in  America  in  1777,  to  offer  his 
services  as  a  simple  volunteer.  He  quickly  won  the 
favor  of  Congress  and  the  life-long  friendship  of  Wash- 
ington. He  was  made  major-general,  and,  though  so 
young,  showed  ability  as  a  commander.  His  conduct 
was  always  prudent.  He  was  wounded  at  the  Brandy- 
wine,  and  he  distinguished  himself  by  a  masterly  re- 
treat from  Barren  Hill  and  fine  conduct  at  the  battle 
of  Monmouth.  In  Virginia,  when  Cornwallis  threat- 
ened him  with  a  superior  force,  and  boasted  that  the 
"little  boy,"  as  he  called  La  Fayette,  could  not  get 
away  from  him,  the  young  marquis  avoided  a  battle, 
and  prepared  by  his  skillful  movements  for  the  final 
success  at  Yorktown.  La  Fayette  was  all  his  life  a 
lover  of  liberty  and  order.  He  took  a  brave  part 
in  the  French  Revolution,  but  refused  to  go  to 
extremes.  He  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  for 
years  in  Austria,  in  spite  of  American  efforts  to 
relieve  him.  At  the  instance  of  Bonaparte,  he  was 
freed  in  1797.  He  visited  the  United  States  in 
1824,  when  he  was  welcomed  as  the  guest  of  the 
nation.  He  made  the  tour  of  the  country,  rejoic- 
ing in  its  prosperity.  He  was  everywhere  received 
with  enthusiasm  by  those  whose  fathers  he  had 
helped  in  their  hour  of  distress.  Congress  voted  him 
$200,000  and  a  township  of  land  for  his  losses  and  ex- 
penses in  the  Revolution.  Though  an  old  man,  he  took 
part  in  the  French  Revolution  of  1830,  and  remained  the 
devoted  friend  of  human  liberty  until  his  death  in  1834. 
France  had  from  the  first  taken  a  lively  interest  in 
the  fate  of  America,  partly  from  a  jealous  dislike  of  Eng- 
land, partly  from  the  love  of  liberty  that  was  growing 


THE   DARK  PERIOD   OF    THE   REVOLUTION. 


183 


among    the    French   people.     The    courageous   persist- 
ence with  which  Washington  attacked  Howe's  army 
at    Germantown     made     a    strong     impression     in 
France,  and  on  the  3Oth  of  January,  1778,  a  treaty 
of  alliance  between  France  and  the  United  States 
was   signed.      Intelligence    of    this   treaty    was    re- 
ceived in  America  with  the  greatest  joy. 

The  first  result  of   the  alliance  with  France  was      81R  HENRY  CUNTON' 
the  recovery  of  Philadelphia.     Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who 
had  succeeded  Howe  in  command  of  the  British  forces,  British  retreat 
was  afraid  that  the  French  might  blockade  the  Delaware,  Phia,  ana  the 
and  thus   shut   him  up  in    Philadelphia.      He   therefore  month,  ji««ui 
retreated  across  New  Jersey  to  New  York,  pushed  by  1778- 
Washington's  army.     During   this   retreat  the   battle  of 
Monmouth  was  fought.     The  Americans  gained  a  partial 
victory,  the  English  retreating  under  cover  of  night. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  enterprises  of  the  war  was  capture  of  stony 
the  capture  of  Stony  Point,  on  the  Hudson.  General 
Anthony  Wayne  led  a  force  of  Americans,  by  defiles  in 
the  mountains,  to  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  fort 
on  the  evening  of  July  15,  1779.  To  prevent  discovery, 
all  the  dogs  on  the  road  were  killed.  At  midnight  the 
Americans  moved  on  the  fort.  The  advanced  guard 
carried  empty  guns  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  thus  faced 
the  fire  of  the  defenders  as  they  rushed  over  the  works 
and  made  the  British  garrison  prisoners. 

When   the  war   had  lasted  three  or  four  years,  the  The  British  con- 

.  ....  quer  Georgia  and 

British   government   became    convinced    that    it   was    a  south  Carolina, 
most  difficult  task  to  subdue  the  Northern  and  Middle  ^edaTtVe'bat- 
States.     The  people  could  not  be  subjugated  even  when  JJ^of  Camden- 
the  armies  were  beaten.     But  as  there  were  more  slaves, 
and  as  the  white  population  was  more  scattered,  in  the 


1 84 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Sergeant  Jasper. 


GENERAL   MOULTRIE. 


Southern  States,  it  was  supposed  that  it  might  be 
easier  to  overrun  them.  At  the  close  of  the  year 
1778  the  British  captured  Savannah,  and  Georgia 
was  soon  subjugated.  In  the  next  year  an  attempt 
was  made  by  the  Americans,  assisted  by  the  French 
fleet,  to  capture  Savannah,  but  it  failed.  In  this 
attack  Count  Pulaski  lost  his  life.  After  a 
regular  siege,  a  British  fleet  and  army  took 
Charleston  in  May,  1780.  General  Gates,  who  had 
commanded  the  Northern  department 
when  Burgoyne  surrendered,  was  put  in 
command  of  all  the  American  troops  at 
the  South.  But  Gates  was  utterly  beat- 
en, and  his  whole'  force  routed  and 
dispersed,  by  the  British  under 
Cornwallis,  at  the  battle  of  Camden, 
in  South  Carolina.  There  was  no 
longer  any  American  army  worthy 
of  the  name  in  the  whole  South. 

The  war  in  the  South  developed  notable  instances  of 
heroic  courage  among  the  patriots.  During  the  defense 
of  Fort  Sullivan,  in  Charleston  harbor,  in  1776,  under 
General  Moultrie,  the  fort  bore  a  flag  with  a  crescent 
on  it.  This  was  before  the  Americans  had  adopted 
a  national  flag,  and  a  crescent  probably  signified  the 
belief  of  the  people  that  a  new  country  would  grow 
stronger  as  time  advanced.  In  the  hottest  of  the  fire 
this  crescent  flag  was  shot  away.  A  sergeant  named 
Jasper  leaped  down  outside  the  fort  and  recovered 
the  flag,  which  he  fixed  to  a  sponge-staff.  This  he 
stuck  in  the  sand,  and  then  returned  unharmed  to  the 
fort.  For  this  act  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  gave 


GENERAL    LINCOLN, 
WHO    DEFENDED   CHARLESTON 


THE   DARK  PERIOD    OF    THE   REVOLUTION. 


185 


him  his  own  sword.  In  1779  he  was  engaged  in  the 
attack  on  Savannah,  when  the  colors  of  his  own  regiment 
were  shot  away.  Jasper  tried  to  replace  them  on  a 
parapet,  but  he  was  mortally  wounded.  In  this  condi- 
tion he  brought  away  his  colors. 

In  the  South  as  in  the  North  the  British  army  found  sPirit  °f  the 

people. 

it  hard  to  gain  permanent  advantages.  The  Americans 
hesitated  to  enlist  in  the  Continental  army  because,  under 
the  discipline  customary  at  that  time,  the  position  of  a 
private  was  a  hard  one.  Flogging  was  a  punishment 
thought  necessary  to  good  order  in  the  American  as 
well  as  in  the  English  army,  and  one  can  readily  conceive 
that  men  so  high-spirited  as  the  Americans  of  that  day 
would  not  readily  submit  to  such  discipline.  The  soldiers 
were  also  poorly  paid  and  badly  fed.  But,  however  often 
or  severely  the  army  might  be  beaten,  the  people  at 
the  South  as  at  the  North  refused  to  be  subdued,  but 
whenever  occasion  offered  rose  against  the  invaders. 

Two  South  Carolina  officers   gained  renown  in  the  Marion  and  his 
irregular  warfare  which  the  patriots  of  that  country  car- 
ried on  against  the  greatest  odds.    General  Thomas 
Sumter  for   his   resolute   fighting   got  the  name 
of   "the  game-cock,"  and  General   Francis   Ma- 
rion was   known  as   "  the   swamp-fox."     In   the 
darkest   hour   of    the    American   cause   in    South 
Carolina,    Marion,    who    had    already    distin- 
guished himself  as  an  officer,  formed  "  Ma- 
rion's Brigade."     His  men  were  armed  with 
what  they  could  get.      Some  carried  rude 
sabers  hammered  out  of  old  saws ;  their  bul- 
lets were   often   made   by  melting   down   pewter 
mugs  and  platters.     They  lived  chiefly  on  hominy  and 


GENERAL    SUMTER. 


1 86 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


GENERAL    MARION. 


potatoes,  and  they  were  capable  of  any  amount  of  hard- 
ship, in  which  their  commander  set  them  a  good  exam- 
ple by  sleeping  on  the  ground,  usually  without  a  blanket. 
With  this  force  Marion  would  move  with  incredible 
swiftness,  striking  now  one  weak  point  in  the  enemy's 
defenses  and  then  quickly  falling  on  another  far 
away.  He  knew  every  by-way  ;  it  was  impossible 
to  entrap  this  swamp-fox.  When  hard  pressed  by 
the  enemy,  he  would  disband  his  force,  leaving  every 
man  to  extricate  himself.  The  enemy  would  next 
discover  his  whereabouts  by  his  falling  suddenly  in 
full  force  again  on  some  remote  post.  He  gave  the 
British  no  peace  ;  they  could  not  get  men  enough 
to  hold  the  country.  Yet,  with  all  his  boldness, 
Marion  was  famed  for  his  sweet  temper,  his  gentleness 
with  his  men,  and  his  forbearance  toward  his  foes.  He  re- 
strained his  troops  from  plunder,  he  was  always  opposed 
to  harsh  measures  against  the  Tories,  and  after  the  war  he 
resisted  the  passage  of  acts  to  confiscate  their  property. 


UNIFORMS   OF    FRENCH 
SOLDIERS    IN    AMERICA. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


THE    CLOSING    YEARS    OF    THE    REVOLUTION. 


IT  was  in    1780,  when  the  affairs  of  the  Ameri- 
cans were  at  a  very  low  point,  that  there  occurred 
the   treason   of    Benedict    Arnold.      Arnold    was    a 
brave  soldier  and  a  capable  and  even  brilliant  lead- 
er, but  in  all  the  affairs  of   life  he  had  proved  him- 
self  lacking   in  the  highest  integrity.     Arnold  had   led 


THE    CLOSING    YEARS   OF    THE    REVOLUTION. 


I87 


REVOLUTIONARY    POSTS   IN    THE    HIGH- 
LANDS OF  THE    HUDSON    AND  THE    LOWER 
PART   OF   THAT    RIVER. 


BENEDICT    ARNOLD. 


an  unsuccessful  expedition  against 
Quebec,  and  his  desperate  courage 
had  probably  saved  the  day  in 
the  battle  at  Bemis  Heights. 
He  had  been  accused  of  pecu- 
lation in  his  accounts,  and 
had  been  once  sentenced  to 
be  publicly  reprimanded  by 
Washington.  Arnold  opened  a 
correspondence  with  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  the  British  general, 
and  afterward  got  himself  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  the 
posts  in  the  Highlands  of  the  Treason  of 

Benedict  Arnold, 

Hudson  in  order  to  betray  them  1780. 
to  the  enemy.      Major  Andr6,  of 
the  British  army,  was  sent  to  ar- 
range with  Arnold  the  surrender 
of    his   forts.     On    his   way 
back  to  New  York  Andre 
was    captured    by    three 
men,  who  refused  all  the 
rewards  which    he   offered 
them,  and   delivered   him 
and    his    papers    to    the 
nearest  American   officer. 
Andre     was      tried     and 


hanged  for  a  spy.     Arnold  had  time  to   escape 
to  the  British  army,  in  which  he  fought  with  great 
vindictiveness    against    the    Americans.      No    name    in 
American  history  is  held  so  infamous  as  that  of  Bene- 
dict Arnold  the  traitor. 


MAJOR   ANDRE. 


i88 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


With  the  coming  in 
of  the  year  1781,  Amer- 
ican prospects  began  to 
brighten.      Greene   had 
taken  command  of  what 
was  left   of   the   ruined 
army      at     the      South, 
which    he    immediately 
recruited   and   improved    by    strict 
discipline.      At    the    battle 
of   the    Cowpens,    fought   in 
South  Carolina  in  January, 
1781,  a   detachment   under 


campaign  of  Gen-  Morgan  defeated   a   British  force  under 

eral  Greene  in  the 


south,  1781. 


COLONEL   TARLETON. 


ONE   OF    MORGAN'S 

RIFLEMEN. 


Tarleton.     Greene  skillfully  retreated  for 
two   hundred   miles  across    North  Caro- 
lina to  the  border  of  Virginia,  followed 
by  Cornwallis.     When  Cornwallis  moved 
to  Hillsboro,  Greene,  re-enforced,  again 
marched    southward,    but    managed    to 
avoid  a  conflict  until  he  had  gathered  new  troops.     In 
the  severe  battle  at  Guilford  Court-House,  Cornwallis 
drove  the  Americans  from  the  field  at  the  close 
of  a  hard-fought  struggle,  but  the 
victory  was  hardly  better  than  j  v 

a  defeat,  for   his   army  was  so  badly 
shattered  that  he  was  forced  to  begin 
a  prompt   retreat   to  the   sea-coast, 
leaving  his  wounded  in  the  hands  of 
the  pursuing  Americans.     The  scene 
of  this  battle  is  now  called  Greens- 
boro, in  honor  of  General  Greene. 


GENERAL    NATHANAEL   GREENE. 


THE   CLOSING    YEARS   OF    THE  REVOLUTION. 


189 


LORD    CORNWALL1S. 


ROYAL    FLAG   OF    FRANCE. 


who     Was     the     ablest     Of    all     the     English    Greene  recon- 
quers the  most 

commanders  in  America,  made  a  junction  with  the  Brit-  of  the  south, 
ish  troops  in  Virginia,  and  Greene  took  advantage  of  this 
to  reconquer  South  Carolina  from  the  English.     Though 
often  checked  and   sometimes  defeated,   he   had    the 
satisfaction  of   recovering   the  three   Southern   States 
so  far  that  the  English  held  only  the 
three  chief  seaports — Savannah, 
Charleston,    and    Wilmington. 
Reaching    Virginia,    Corn- 
wallis  pushed  the  work  of  fight- 
ing and  destruction  with  his  usual 
vigor.      La    Fayette,    who    was   in  Battle  of  York- 
command  of  the  Americans,  showed  derofcomwaiii 
much   ability   in   avoiding   a   battle.      Washington   now  Oct<  I9' I78l- 
marched  his  forces  to  the  southward,  in  company  with 
a  French  army  under  Rochambeau.      The  French  fleet 
blockaded  the  troops  of   Cornwallis  at  Yorktown, 
and  the  American  and  French  armies,  co-operat- 
ing in  the  friendliest  way,  laid  siege  to  the  place. 
On  the  ipth  of  October,   1781,  the  British  army 
under  Cornwallis  surrendered,  prisoners  of  war. 
The  English  people  had  grown  weary  of  the 
conflict.    The  surrender  of  Cornwallis  took  away 
from   them  the   last  hope  of   subduing  America. 
From  this  time  it  was  certain  that  American  in- 
dependence would  be  granted   by  England.     Terms  of 
peace  were  at  length  agreed  on  at  Paris  in  1782,  and  a 


AMERICAN    ARTILLERY    DRAWN    BY   OXEN. 


1 9o 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


'Washington  re- 
tires to  private 
life,  1783. 


treaty  was  signed  the  following  year. 
By  this  peace  England  recognized 
the  independence  of  the  United 
States.  Among  those  who  negotiated 
the  peace  was  the  venerable  Dr. 
Franklin. 

Washington,  who  was  the  idol  of 
the  people,  resigned  his  command  of 
the  army  in  1783,  bidding  farewell 

to  his  troops,  and  returning  to  private  life  at  Mount  Ver- 
non,  like  a  good  citizen.  His  patience,  wisdom,  coolness, 
and  unselfish  patriotism  had  procured  the  successful  end 
of  the  long  struggle. 


HOUSE    IN   WHICH    THE   SURRENDER 
AT   YORKTOWN    WAS    MADE. 


ESEK    HOPKINS, 
FIRST   COMMANDER   OF 
THE  AMERICAN    NAVY. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

TRAITS   AND   INCIDENTS   OF  THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR. 

AT  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  the  American 

colonies  had  no  navy,  and  it  was  quite  impossible  for 

them  to   form  one  that  could    contend   with  that  of 

England,  which  was  the  best  in  the  world.      But  the 

Americans  of  that  time  were  a  "  web-footed  people," 

that  is,  a  sea-coast  people,  who  did  nearly  all  their  trad- 


INCIDENTS   OF    THE   REVOLUTIONARY    WAR. 


ing  and  traveling  by  water.  They  quickly  fitted  up  some 
ships,  that  did  good  execution.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  the  American  army  lacked  powder,  arms,  and  cloth- 
ing. While  powder -factories  were  building,  daring 
American  seamen,  North  and  South,  put  to  sea  and  capt- 
ured supplies  of  powder  from  British  ships.  In  1776 
ten  thousand  suits  of  winter  uniform,  on  their  way  to 
Burgoyne's  army,  were  taken  at  sea.  These  were  sent 
to  clothe  the  destitute  American  soldiers. 

But  the  little  navy  rendered  other  and  more  impor- 
tant services.  Captain  Nicholas  Biddle  gained  much  re- 
nown by  his  brilliant  successes  in  a  small  ship.  John 
Paul  Jones,  a  Scotchman,  had  en- 
tered the  American  navy,  and 
he  soon  proved  himself  one  of 
the  best  seamen  and  one  of 
the  most  unconquerable  fight- 
ers that  ever  sailed  the  ocean. 
He  scoured  the  English  and 
Irish  coasts,  a  terror  to  sea  and 
land.  In  the  Bonhomme  Rich- 
ard he  encountered  the  English 
man-of-war  Serapis,  and,  finding 
no  other  chance  for  victory,  he  ran  alongside  the  enemy 
and  lashed  the  two  ships  together.  After  a  bloody 
battle,  enduring  two  hours,  the  English  ship  surren- 
dered. But  the  Bonhomme  Richard  was  so  badly  cut 
to  pieces  that  Jones  was  forced  to  transfer  his  crew  to 
the  Serapis,  leaving  his  own  ship  to  sink. 

A  great  deal  of  destruction  was  done  to  English 
commerce  by  privateers — vessels  of  war  fitted  out  by 
private  individuals.  The  profits  made,  even  by  com- 


Early  achieve- 
ments of  the 
Americans  at  sea. 


AMERICAN    SEAMAN, 
1776. 


Captain  Biddle's 
success.     Paul 
Jones  and  the 
battle  of  the 
Bonhomme  Rich- 
ard with  the 
Serapis. 


JOHN    PAUL  JONE8. 


American  priva- 
teers. 


192 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Arms  of  the 

their  mode  of 
fighting. 


REVOLUTIONARY 

POWDER-HORN   At 

CANTEEN. 


SOLDIER   OF   THE 

CONGRESS.       FROM    A 

DRAWING    BY    A    GERMAN 

OFFICER    AT   THE    TIME. 

Weakness  of  the 
American  gov- 
ernment during 
the  Revolution. 


FORT    PLAIN. 
A    REVOLUTIONARY 

BLOCK-HOUSE 

3N    THE    NEW    YORK 

FRONTIER. 


mon  seamen,  from  prizes  taken  in  this  kind  of  war, 
drew  many  men  into  it,  and  prevented  enlistments  in 
the  army. 

The    farmer-militia    usually    wore    brown 
tow-shirts    and  carried   long  fowling-pieces. 
Their  ammunition  was   carried   in  a  pow- 
der-horn   and     shot -bag.       They     were 
sometimes  barefoot,  after  the  fashion  of 
many  country  people  of  that  time.     Bay- 
onets were  often  lacking.     At  the  battle 
of    Saratoga    one   of   the   divisions   of    the 
Americans   had   but   one   bayonet   to   every  three   men. 
It  is  said  that  they  put  one  bullet   and  two  buck-shot 
in  a  gun  together.     There  were  many  men 
among  the  Americans  whose  aim  was  very 
deadly.      The    riflemen    from   the   frontier 
were    capable    of    incredible    accuracy    in 
shooting.      Double-barreled   guns  were   al- 
most, though  not   quite,  unknown  at  that 
time.      The    percussion-cap    had    not    yet 
been   invented,   but   the   old    firelocks,   set 
off  by  a  burning  fuse,  had  all  disappeared. 
The   small    arms   were   probably   all   flint- 
locks— guns  and  pistols  that  were  set  off 
by  a  flint  striking  a  piece  of  steel.     There 
were  no  breech-loaders  and  no  revolvers. 
Firing  was  much  slower  and  less  effective 
than  now.     The  bayonet  was  more  important  then  than 
in  recent  warfare. 

The  American  troops  suffered  extreme  hardships. 
The  paper  money  issued  by  Congress  to  pay  the  soldiers 
declined  in  value  until  it  was  almost  worthless.  In  more 


AMERICAN    RIFLEMAN. 

FROM   A    PRINT   OF 

THE    TIME. 


.VTS  OF   THE   REVOLUTIONARY    WAR. 


193 


than  one  campaign  the  barefoot  soldiers  left  blood  on  the 
ground  when  they  marched.  To  relieve  the  necessities 
of  the  soldiers,  patriotic  women  collected  blankets  and 
sent  them  to  the  army. 

When  the  Revolution  broke  out  there  were 
nearly  three  millions  of  people  in  the  American 
colonies.      During    the    war    the    population    increased, 
and,  notwithstanding  the  interruptions  of   business  and 
the  destruction  of  property,  the  wealth  also  increased. 
The    loss   of   credit   and    the    inefficiency   and    suffering 
of   the   army  were  principally  due  to   the  weakness  of 
the  government.     There  were,  indeed,  thirteen  govern- 
ments, bound   together  very  loosely.     Congress  had  no 
way  of   making   each    State    pay  its   proportion    of   the 
expense  of  the  war,  and  so  one  State  waited 
for  another.    It  was  not  until  some 
years  after  the  peace  that  a  strong 
government  was  formed. 
One   of  the   most   notable   exploits   of  conquest  of  the 

Illinois  country 

the  war  was  the  bold  march  of  General  by  ciark. 


AMERICAN  MAJOR- 
GENERAL.  FROM  A 
'RINT  OF  THE  TIME. 


George  Rogers  Clark,  at  the  head  of  a 
little   band  of   frontiersmen,   to    the   dis- 
tant   posts    in    Illinois    on    the    Missis- 
sippi   River.     These    he    captured    by 
courage,    skill,    and    craft,    and    he    also 
took    and    held    Vincennes    in    Indiana. 

The  seizing  and  securing  of  these  remote  posts  for  the     ISRAEL  PUTNAM, 
United  States  were  of  the  highest  importance.     At  the 
peace  with  England  our  possession  of  these  places  gave 
the  United  States  the  territory  north  of  the  Ohio,  and 
perhaps  changed  the  destiny  of  the  country. 


ENGLISH    GRENADIER. 


A    NOTED   GENERAL 
E    REVOLUTION. 


J04  HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  ADOPTION   OF  THE   CONSTITUTION. 

state  constitu-         ^\T  the   beginning   of    the   Revolution   the   different 

tions  adopted. 

colonies  were  governed,  in  one  way  or  another,  by 
authority  derived  from  England,  as  we  have  seen  in  an- 
other chapter.  After  they  went  to  war  with  England 
for  their  rights,  they  still  carried  on  government  under 
English  charters  as  English  colonies.  New  Hampshire 
was  the  first  to  change.  In  December,  1775,  more  than 
half  a  year  before  independence  of  England  was  declared, 
this  colony  set  up  a  State  government  for  itself.  In  the 
May  following,  Congress  advised  the  several  colonies  to 
form  State  governments.  The  people  in  the  different 
colonies  had  been  accustomed  to  different  ways  of  trans- 
acting their  public  business.  They  mostly  made  their 
new  governments  on  the  plan  of  the  old,  only  leaving 
out  of  the  account  the  authority  of  the  king, 
origin  of  the  The  thirteen  colonies,  though  lying  so  close  to- 

States. 

gether,  had  been  used  to  acting  in  almost  entire  in- 
dependence of  one  another,  and  even  in  the  distresses 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  they  jealously  held  them- 
selves apart,  and  kept  up  a  kind  of  separateness  of  gov- 
ernment and  interest.  It  never  occurred  to  them  to  do 
away  with  dividing-lines  and  make  themselves  into  one 
state.  We  owe  our  present  federal  system  of  govern- 
ment to  this  local  feeling,  which  had  been  produced  by 
colonial  conditions.  For  a  large  country  like  ours  the 
division  into  States  is  a  fortunate  arrangement,  and  a 
source  of  strength  to  the  government ;  but  it  was  not 


THE  ADOPTION  OF   THE   CONSTITUTION.  Ig^ 

brought  about  by  anybody's  wisdom,  but  by  the  course 
of  events. 

When  the  States  had  changed  to  independent  forms  of  states  inde- 

pendent  of 

government,  they  still  regarded  themselves  as  independ-  one  another, 
ent  of  one  another.  Congress  was  only  a  meeting  of  the 
representatives  of  States  allied  to  one  another.  The  feel- 
ing of  union  and  nationality  had  not  had  time  to  grow. 
All  taxes  were  levied  by  the  States,  and  the  authority  of 
Congress  was  very  weak.  Much  of  the  suffering  of  the 
armies  during  the  Revolution  grew  out  of  the  inability  of 
Congress  to  levy  a  tax  without  the  assent  of  the  several 
States,  or  to  raise  troops  by  direct  authority.  The  best 
endeavors  of  Washington  and  his  men  were  thwarted  by 
this  lack  of  cohesion  among  the  States. 

But  these  thirteen  States,  fighting  against  the  same  confederation 
enemy  and  under  the  same  officers,  and  suffering  the 
same  sorrows,  came  by  degrees  to  feel  themselves  a 
country.  They  found  it  necessary  to  bind  themselves 
together  and  to  give  more  power  to  Congress.  So,  in 
November,  1777,  when  the  war  had  been  going  on  two 
years  and  a  half,  Congress  adopted  a  plan  for  a  perma- 
nent confederation  of  the  States.  This  was  a  very  short 
step  toward  a  national  government,  for  in  this  plan  the 
States  were  treated  as  sovereign  nations  agreeing  to  form 
themselves  into  a  perpetual  confederation.  Each  State 
had  but  one  vote  in  Congress,  however  many  representa- 
tives it  might  send,  so  that  the  largest  State  in  the  Con- 
federation counted  for  no  more  than  the  very  smallest. 
Only  the  States  were  recognized;  the  people,  many  or 
few,  were  not  counted.  And  the  several  States  were  so 
jealous  of  their  independence  that  it  was  more  than  three 
years  after  this  plan  had  passed  Congress  before  all  the 


i96 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


States  could  be  persuaded  to  agree  to  it.     The  Confed- 
eration  was   completed   in    1781.      It  was  a  wretchedly 
weak  government,  which  very  soon  fell  into  contempt 
at  home  and  abroad. 
Meeting  of  the         But    this    weak    government    continued    for    several 

Constitutional 

convention.  years  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  until  it  became 
evident  that  its  feebleness  would  bring  the  country  to 
ruin.  In  1787  a  convention  met  in  Philadelphia  to  form 
a  constitution  better  suited  to  give  strength  to  the  nation. 
George  Washington,  who  had  retired  to  private  life 
when  the  war  was  over,  was  chosen  president  of  this 
convention.  It  was  a  hard  task  to  persuade  the  con- 
vention to  agree  to  lay  aside  State  jealousies  and  form 
a  strong  central  government.  The  best  patriots  of  the 
day  looked  with  extreme  anxiety  for  the  decisions  of 
the  convention,  for  its  deliberations  were  in  secret. 

The  constitu-          TWO  or  three  delegates  were  so  dissatisfied  that  they 

tion  framed.  ^  ° 

withdrew,  and  it  was  feared  that  others  would  leave, 
and  that  the  convention  would  break  up  without  result. 
The  wisest  men  trembled  with  apprehension.  The  aged 
Franklin,  greatly  reverenced  by  all,  rose  in  the  conven- 
tion one  day  and  expressed  his  despair  by  proposing  that 
henceforth  the  sessions  should  be  opened  with  prayer. 
He  said  there  was  now  no  hope  except  from  Heaven, 
the  wit  of  man  having  been  exhausted.  But  the  proba- 
bility that  a  failure  of  the  convention  to  agree  on  some 
plan  would  throw  the  country  into  convulsions,  and  per- 
haps into  civil  war,  brought  the  delegates  at  length  to 
reconcile  their  differences,  and  to  unanimously  recom- 
mend the  Constitution  as  it  was  finally  adopted.  When 
at  last  the  delegates  were  signing  their  names,  the  ven- 
erable Franklin  said  that  he  had  frequently  asked  him- 


ION  OF   THE   CONSTITUTION.  jg^ 

self,  in  t  >f  the  debates,  whether  the  sun  pict- 

ured be!  lir  occupied  by  Washington  as  presi- 

dent of  tion  were  a  rising  or  a  setting  sun, 

but  that  h  lew  that  it  was  rising. 

But  1  !'»r  the  Constitution  was  by  no  means  The  cons*tu- 

over  when  the  mention  adjourned.     The  fight  which 

the  people  had  made  for  the  freedom  of  their  local  gov- 
ernments from  English  tyranny  had  made  them  jealous 
of  any  superior  government.  There  were  people  who 
saw  in  the  office  of  president,  provided  for  in  the  new 
Constitution,  something  kingly,  and  who  feared  that  the 
new  Congress  would  prove  as  tyrannical  as  the  British 
Parliament  had  been.  It  was  arranged  that  the  Consti- 
tution should  not  go  into  force  in  any  part  of  the  coun- 
try until  nine  of  the  States  had  accepted  it.  The  fight 
in  many  States  was  a  bitter  one,  and  it  was  not  until 
June,  1788,  that  the  ninth  State  adopted  it.  Then  there 
was  great  joy  in  the  minds  of  those  who  knew  how  im- 
portant a  firm  national  union  was.  Rhode  Island  was 
the  last  of  the  thirteen  States  to  accept  the  Constitution 
and  come  into  the  Union.  This  she  did  in  1790. 

The    Constitution   as   then    adopted    is,    with    a   few  Three  depart- 

.  ments  of  the 

amendments,  the  one  we  live  under  now.  It  is  there-  Federal  GOV- 
fore  important  that  we  Americans  should  understand 
its  main  features.  Under  the  old  Confederation,  the  exe- 
cution of  the  acts  of  Congress  was  intrusted  chiefly  to 
committees  of  its  own  members.  But  the  new  Consti- 
tution made  an  almost  complete  separation  of  the  gov- 
ernment into  three  parts,  each  of  which  is  confined  to 
its  own  duties. 

First,   the   legislative,  or  law-making,   department   is  The  legislative 
called  in  the  Constitution  "the  Congress."     It  includes 


198 


HISTORY  OF    THE  UNITED   STATES. 


two  bodies — a  House  of  Representatives,  chosen  by  the 
people,  and  a  Senate,  chosen  by  the  Legislatures  of  the 
several  States.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  each 
State  is  allowed  a  greater  or  less  number  of  members, 
according  to  its  population.  In  the  Senate  each  State, 
large  or  small,  has  two  members.  A  bill  must  get  a 
majority  of  votes  in  both  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  the  Senate  in  order  to  become  a  law.  It  must  also 
be  approved  by  the  President.  But,  if  the  President 
refuses  to  sign  it,  then  two  thirds  of  both  the  Senate 
and  the  House  may  pass  it,  and  it  becomes  a  law  in 
spite  of  the  President's  veto. 
The  executive  Second,  the  executive  department,  which  consists  of 

department. 

the  President  (and  those  appointed  under  him).  THe 
President  is  chosen  for  four  years.  He  is  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy.  He  appoints  all  the 
chief  executive  officers,  with  the  consent  of  the  Senate. 
In  case  of  the  death  of  the  President,  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent  takes  his  place. 
The  judicial  Third,  the  judicial  department  consists  of  the  Su- 

department. 

preme    Court    of    the    United    States    and    such    lower 
courts  as   Congress   may   establish.     The    President  ap- 
.  points  the  judges  of  the  United  States  courts,  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate. 
The  constitu-  This    Constitution   shows   wisdom    in   the   men    who 

tion  a  result 

of  experience,  made  it,  but  true  wisdom  always  learns  from  history. 
Those  who  adopted  the  Constitution  did  not  originate 
its  provisions;  they  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  history 
of  the  country.  We  have  seen  in  Chapter  VI  that  the 
Great  Charter  given  to  the  struggling  little  colony  of 
Virginia  in  1618  provided  in  an  imperfect  way  a  repre- 
sentative government,  with  two  divisions  in  the  Assem- 


THE  ADOPTION  OF   THE   CONSTITUTION. 


199 


bly  somewhat  like  our  two  houses  of  Congress.  The 
other  colonies  were  formed  on  this  model,  with  some 
variations ;  and  all  through  the  colonial  time,  in  all  the 
struggles  of  the  colonies  for  their  liberties,  this  plan  of 
government  was  in  course  of  development.  In  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  the  President  has  the  power  to  veto 
a  bill  passed  by  Congress,  just  as  the  colonial  governor 
could  veto  bills  passed  by  the  Legislatures.  In  most  of 
the  colonial  governments  the  Upper  House,  or  Council, 
was  appointed  by  the  king  or  the  governor.  Our  na- 
tional Senate  is  chosen  by  the  several  States.  This  is  a 
relic  of  the  old  semi-sovereign  character  of  the  States 
under  the  Confederation.  So  that  the  Constitution  is  a 
growth,  and  is  only  to  be  understood  by  studying  the 
history  of  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

Though  the  system  of  intrusting  a  great  deal  of  our  The  division  of 

.      /      power  between 

law-making  to  the  several  States  grew  out  of  the  ongi-  the  several  states 
nal  colonial  condition  of  the  American  people,  yet  it  states  °  Umt 
has  proved  to  be  a  great  advantage  of  our  plan  of  gov- 
ernment that  law-making  for  the  regulation  of  morals 
and  the  ordinary  business  of  life  is  left  to  the  States, 
so  that  the  people  of  each  region  can  have  laws  suited 
to  their  necessities.  It  is  also  a  great  source  of  strength 
that  the  general  concerns  of  the  whole  country — the 
money,  the  foreign  commerce,  treaties  with  foreign  na- 
tions, and  affairs  of  war  and  peace — are  settled  by  the 
central  government  of  the  whole  United  States. 

Before  the  Revolution,  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Ensr-  Freedom  of  re- 
ligion, of  the 
land  was  established  in  the  Southern  colonies,  while  the  press.'and  of 

Congregational  churches  were  supported   by  law  in  all  *' 
the  New  England  colonies  except  Rhode  Island.    During 
the    Revolution,  Thomas  Jefferson   led   a  movement  in 


2OO 


HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


favor  of  religious  freedom.  Now  there  is  no  religious 
establishment  in  any  part  of  the  country,  but  all  are  free 
to  worship  in  their  own  way.  The  Constitution  provides 
that  Congress  shall  not  interfere  with  religious  freedom, 
or  with  the  freedom  of  speech  or  the  freedom  of  the 
press. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

THE  NEW   REPUBLIC  AND   ITS   PEOPLE. 

Washington  WHEN  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  a  new  nation 

elected  first 

president.  was  formed  out  of  thirteen  States,  which  before  that  time 
had  been  almost  independent  of  one  another.  The  old 
Confederation  had  no  executive  head,  but  by  the  pro- 
visions of  the  new  Constitution  there  was  now  to  be 
chosen  a  President  of  this  new  nation,  and  the  whole 
country  turned  its  eyes  to  one  man.  General  Washing- 
ton, who  had  been  for  five  years  living  quietly  on  his 
plantation  at  Mount  Vernon,  was  the  only  person  thought 
of  for  President,  and  he  was  elected  without  a  rival. 
John  Adams  was  chosen  Vice- President. 

Washington's         AS  there  were  no  railroads,  Washington  was  obliged 

journey  to 

New  York.  to  travel  in  his  carriage  from  Mount  Vernon,  on  the 
Potomac,  to  New  York,  the  temporary  capital.  Every- 
where he  was  detained  by  the  applause  of  the  people, 
who  now  looked  to  his  wisdom  to  complete  the  work 
of  consolidating  thirteen  separate  States  into  one  na- 
tion. Troops  of  horsemen  escorted  Washington  from 
place  to  place,  and  every  town  welcomed  him.  His 
passage  through  Philadelphia  was  a  sort  of  triumph. 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

FROM    A    PAINTING    BY    GILBERT    STUART. 


2O2 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


'Washington's 
reception  in 
New  York. 


When  he  reached  the  bridge  over  which  he  had  led  his 
victorious  little  army  out  of  Trenton  to  fight  the  battle 
of  Princeton,  he  found  a  triumphal  arch  erected  by  the 
women  of  Trenton.  It  was  supported  by  thirteen  pil- 
lars, and  had  a  large  dome,  with  a  sunflower  and  the 
significant  inscription,  "  To  thee  alone."  Another  in- 
scription read,  "  The  Defender  of  the  Mothers  will  be 
the  Protector  of  the  Daughters."  As  Washington  passed 
beneath  this  arch,  girls  dressed  in  white  sang  an  ode  of 
welcome,  and  strewed  flowers  before  the  newly  chosen 
President. 

From    Elizabethtown    Point,  in  New  Jersey,  he   was 
brought  to  New  York  in  a  handsome  barge  built  for  the 
purpose,  and  manned  by  thirteen  master-pilots  dressed  in 
white.     Six  other  barges,  with  oarsmen  in  white,  escorted 
him.     When  he  landed  on  a  carpeted  stairs  at  the  wharf, 
he  was  received  by  the  governor  and  the  whole  city  with 
every  possible  honor.     On  the  3Oth  of  April,  1789,  just 
where  his  statue  now  stands  in  Wall 
Street,  the  first  of  the  presidents  took 
a  solemn  oath  to  support  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  infant  country. 

The  country,  when  Washington 
became  President,  contained  less  than 
four  millions  of  people.  The  single 
State  of  New  York  has  a  larger 
population  than  the  whole  country 
had  in  Washington's  time,  and  Penn- 
Popuiation  of  the  sylvania  also  has  more,  while  Ohio  and  Illinois  have  each 

country  at  the 

beginning  of         nearly  as  many.     The  census  of   1890,  when  it  comes  to 

adminisfrat^n.      be  added  up,  will  doubtless  show  that  in  one  hundred 

years  the  population  has  increased  to  more  than  seventy 


The  smaller  square 
represents  the  population 

of  the 

United  States  m  I79O, 
3,929,214. 

The  larger  square 
represents  the  population 

of 

New  York  in  I88O, 
5,082,871. 


THE  NEW  REPUBLIC  AND  ITS  PEOPLE. 


203 


millions,  or  to  at  least  eighteen  times  as  many  as  there 
were  when  the  first  census  was  taken  in  1790. 

The  three  or  four  millions  of  people  in  America,  when  Population  most- 
the  Constitution  made  the  States  one  nation,  were  settled  coast°ne 
chiefly  along  the  Atlantic  coast.     The  center  of  popula- 


«««Jij,  Virginia;  Xew  Jvia7»c 
;     Connecticut    and    MaMaehuZZ 

claimed  that 

of  their  <,»» 

all  finally  yielded  totht 

ihok 


tion 

was  east 
of  Balti- 
more, on  the 
eastern  shore 
of  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  This  shows  how  closely  the  inhabitants 
clung  to  the  sea,  which  was  almost  the  only  great  high- 


204 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


way  of  their  commerce,  for,  lacking  railways  and  even 
good  roads,  they  could  carry  on  little  traffic  except  by 
sea  or  along  navigable  streams.  The  traveler  who  made 
his  way  up  into  the  country,  found  the  population  becom- 
ing more  sparse,  and  the  houses  generally  mere  cabins. 
By  the  time  one  reached  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  there 
was  an  end  of  settlements.  All  to  the  west  of  the  mount- 
ains was  a  wilderness,  filled  with  hostile  savages  and 
wild  beasts,  except  the  little  pioneer  settlements  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee.  The  western  line  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States  was  the  Mississippi  River,  but  the 
unbroken  forests  and  prairies  of  that  region  were  about 
as  hard  to  reach  as  the  interior  of  Alaska  is  to-day. 

The  people  of  the  first  years  of  the  republic  had  never 
dreamed  of  either  railroad  or  steamboat.  One  of  the 
commonest  modes  of  travel  from  one  town  to  another 
was  by  sailing-packets.  When  one  set  out,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  foretell  the  length  of  the  voyage ;  all  depended 
on  wind  and  weather.  It  usually  took  several  days  to 
sail  by  sloop  from  Albany  to  New  York,  and  passengers, 
having  provided  themselves  with  patience  and  plenty  of 
fishing-tackle,  thought  the  lazy  journey  delightful.  Rude 
stage-wagons  were  run  between  the  larger  towns.  It 
took  six  days  to  make  the  journey  from  Boston  to  New 
York,  and  two  or  three  to  get  from  New  York  to  Phila- 
delphia. A  journey  required  as  many  days  then  as  it 
does  hours  now. 

Travel  by  private         Many  traveled  in  their  own  coaches  or  in  light  two- 
vehicles. 

wheeled  vehicles.     The  ferries  were  a  terror  to   these. 

Large  rivers  were  usually  crossed  in  rude  scows,  and  not 
without  danger,  but  at  some  places  it  was  necessary  to 
swim  the  horses  over  and  float  the  carriage  at  the  stern 


THE  NEW  REPUBLIC  AND  ITS  PEOPLE. 


205 


of  a  canoe.  Sometimes  two  canoes  were  put  side  by  side 
and  lashed  together,  so  that  a  horse  might  stand  with 
fore-feet  in  one  and  hind-feet  in  the  other,  to  be  ferried 
over  a  river. 

Probably  the  most  comfortable  of  all  modes  of  travel  Horseback  tra 
at  the  time  was  that  of  riding  on  horseback.  In  America 
there  were  everywhere  horses  that  ambled  naturallv. 
The  "  natural  pacer,"  of  Virginia,  and  the  "  Narragansett 
pacer,"  of  Rhode  Island,  were  highly  prized,  and  were 
matters  of  wonder  even  in  Europe.  Two  people  often 
journeyed  with  but  one  horse.  The  first  rode  ahead 
and  tied  the  horse  by  the  road ;  the  second,  when  he 
came  up,  rode  on  past  his  companion  and  in  turn  tied 
the  horse  and  left  him  for  the  other.  This  was  called 

"  traveling  ride  and  tie." 


WAGONS   AND   CARRIAGES   OF   THAT    TIME 


When  Washington   became    President,   all   the   chief  Badness  of  the 

roads  generally. 

towns  were  on  the  sea-coast,  or  on  the  tide-water  of  the  The  great  wagon 

.  ,  ,    traffic  in  Penn- 

nvers,  except   Lancaster,  in    Pennsylvania.     Outside   of  8yivania. 
that  State,  the  roads  were  so  bad  that  a  large  trading- 
town   was   not   possible  away   from    water   conveyance. 
The  interior  trade  of    Pennsylvania  was  carried  on  in 
great  wagons,  known  as  Conestoga  wagons,  each  drawn 


206 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Carrying  the 
mails. 


by  six  or  eight  stout  horses.  There  were  ten  thousand 
or  more  of  these  wagons  running  out  of  Philadelphia. 
The  wagon-trade  with  the  interior  made  Philadelphia 
the  chief  town  of  North  America.  Trade  with  remote 
districts  of  the  country  was  still  carried  on  by  means 
of  pack-horses  and  bateaux,  or  small  boats.  Men  who 
pushed  bateaux  with  poles,  or  followed  the  wandering 
lives  of  pack-horsemen  in  the  woods,  or  wagoners  from 
town  to  town,  were  naturally  rough  and  boisterous  in 
manners  and  without  much  education.  There  was  not 
much  letter-writing  then,  and  the  mails  were  carried 
mostly  on  horseback,  with  little  regularity  and  no  speed, 
so  that  news  sent  by  mail  almost  became  history  by 
the  time  it  reached  the  reader.  The  newspapers  were 
published  weekly,  and  were  slow  with  their 
news  and  rather  dull  in  their  comments. 
There  were  schools  in  all  the 
leading  towns  and  cities.  In  New 
England  there  were  schools  in  al- 
most every  township.  But  there 
was  no  public-school  system  like 
that  which  prevails  at  present. 
The  schools  were,  for  the  most 
part,  poor ;  the  discipline  in  them 
was  severe,  and  sometimes  brutal.  Boys  were  taught  to 
read  and  write,  and  sometimes  to  "  cast  accounts."  Girls 
learned  to  read,  sometimes  also  to  write.  But  needle- 
work and  fancy-work  were  thought  more  appropriate  to 
their  sex.  The  oldest  college  in  the  country  was  Har- 
vard, at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  which  was  founded 
in  1638.  The  next  oldest  was  the  college  of  William  and 


THE  NEW  REPUBLIC  AND  ITS  PEOPLE.  2Qj 

Mary,  at  Williamsburg,  the  capital  of  Virginia,  which 
was  chartered  in  1693,  in  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary, 
and  which  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  was  the 
richest  college  in  the  colonies.  Yale  College,  in  New 
Haven,  founded  in  1700,  was  the  third  in  age.  There 
was  also  a  college  in  New  York,  one  in  Philadelphia, 
and  another  in  Princeton,  New  Jersey.  But  we  are  not 
to  think  of  any  of  these  colleges  as  great  institutions. 
They  were,  rather,  little  more  than  academies  in  the 
number  of  their  students  and  in  their  provisions  for  the 
education  of  pupils. 

For  a  long  time  after  the  colonies  were  settled  there  science,  nter 
had  been  little  that  one  could  call  literature  or  art  or 
science.  People  busy  in  cutting  down  forests  and  build- 
ing new  towns  have  no  time  to  write  books  or  paint 
pictures.  The  early  books  were  almost  all  on  politics 
or  religion.  But  in  the  fifty  years  before  the  Revolu- 
tion there  came  to  be  a  considerable  interest  in  science 
and  literature.  In  the  period  following  the  Revolution, 
nearly  all  the  great  minds  were  interested  in  politics, 
and  the  lighter  forms  of  literature  were  not  cultivated 
with  much  success,  but  the  writings  of  Madison,  Ham- 
ilton, and  others,  on  questions  of  state,  give  luster  to 
their  age. 

Almost  at  the  beginning  of  Washington's  administra-  Franklin, 
tion  there  died  the  aged  Benjamin  Franklin,  first  of 
Americans  to  achieve  a  world-wide  and  enduring  fame, 
and  one  of  the  very  greatest  men  of  his  century.  Frank- 
lin was  the  son  of  a  tallow-chandler,  and  was  born  in 
Boston  in  1706.  He  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  his 
brother's  office,  and  also  did  some  rude  engraving  for 
the  paper.  Though  working  hard  in  the  daytime,  he 


208 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Franklin 
lie  life. 


,n  pub- 


read  diligently  at  night, 
and  made  remarkable 
advancement  in  knowl- 
edge. At  seventeen,  he 
went  to  Philadelphia, 
entering  the  city  poor, 
and  munching  a  roll  as 
he  walked  along  the 
streets  of  the  town  of 
which  he  was  to  become 
the  most  famous  citizen. 
After  many  vicissitudes 
he  rose  to  the  owner- 
ship of  a  printing-office. 

He  published  an  almanac,  known  as  "  Poor  Richard's," 
which   became    famous   for   its   wise   proverbs,   and    he 
printed  and  edited  the  best  newspaper  in  the  American 
colonies.      Franklin   was   postmaster-general    for 
the  colonies.     He  became  a  careful  student  of 
the  new  science  of  electricity,  and  in  1752,  by 
means  of  a  kite,  he  proved  that  the  lightning 
of  the  clouds  was  electricity.     This  discov- 
ery, and  the  invention  of  the  lightning-rod, 
.made    him    famous    in    Europe.      He   pro- 
moted the  formation  of  libraries  and  other 
literary  institutions,  and  furthered  the  pub- 
lic   welfare    in    many    ways.     He   went    to 
London   more   than   once    as    agent   for   his 
own  and  other  colonies,  and   was    chiefly  influential  in 
securing    the    repeal   of    the    Stamp    Act.      He    was    in 
London  as  agent  for  several  of   the   colonies  when  the 
Revolution  broke  out,  but  he  immediately  returned   to 


HOME  AND   SOCIETY  IN  WASHINGTON'S   TIME.     2Qg 

America.  He  was  one  of  the  committee  to  draft  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  he  went  to  France  in 
1776  as  ambassador.  In  France  he  was  treated  with 
something  like  idolatry  by  all  classes  of  people,  from  the 
king  downward.  It  was  his  skillful  hand  that  negoti- 
ated the  treaty  with  that  country,  without  which  the 
Revolution  could  hardly  have  succeeded.  He  assisted 
in  making  the  treaty  of  peace  with  England  in  1782, 
and  took  part  in  framing  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  in  1787.  He  died  in  Philadelphia  in  1790,  aged 
eighty-four  years.  It  was  said  of  him  that  "  he  wrested 
the  thunder  from  the  sky  and  the  scepter  'from  tyrants." 
Franklin  was  a  great  journalist,  author,  statesman,  pa- 
triot, scientist,  and  philosopher.  Few  men  have  ever 
gained  distinction  of  so  many  sorts. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

HOME  AND   SOCIETY   IN   WASHINGTON'S   TIME. 

NOT  only  did  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  Lack  of  modem 
time  of  President  Washington,  have  no  railroads  and  no 
steamboats,  but  they  lacked  a  great  number  of  other  con- 
veniences. Telegraphs  and  telephones  were  unknown. 
Electric  lights  are  an  invention  of  our  own  time,  but  our 
ancestors  did  not  even  have  gas  or  kerosene-oil.  Lamps 
of  any  kind  were  almost  unknown ;  houses  were  lighted 
with  tallow-candles,  though  some  of  the  people  made 
candles  of  a  green  wax  derived  from  the  berries  of  the 
wax-myrtle  tree.  The  poorest  people  burned  a  wick  in 


2IO  HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

a  vessel  containing  a  little  grease,  or  lighted  pieces  of 
pitch-pine  on  the  hearth.      With  such  lights,  it  was  no 
great  virtue   that   they   went   to  bed  early.      Even   the 
streets  of  large  towns  were  lighted   with  dim   lanterns. 
Stoves   for    heating    were   almost    unknown ;    those   for 
cooking  were  not  yet  dreamed  of.     Wood  was  the  only 
fuel  used  in  houses.      Blacksmiths  burned  charcoal. 
Life  among  the          There  were  few  mines  and  very  few   manufactures. 
Wool  or  flax  was  prepared  and  spun  at  home,  and  then 
woven  into  plain  homespun  cloths  for  men's  and 
women's  wear.     The  greater  part  of  the  people 
were  farmers,  and  the  farmer  rarely  spent  money. 
What  his  family  ate  and  wore  was  produced  at 
home.     The  rough  shoes   worn  in   winter  were, 
perhaps,  bought  of   a  neighboring  cobbler,  but 
they   were    sometimes    made    at    home.      The 
children,  and,  in  many  cases,  the  parents  them- 
selves, went  barefoot  in  summer.     Plows,  wagons, 
and    sleds   were   mostly   made   on    the   farm.     In 
many   parts  of  the  country  the  plow  was  unknown, 
and  the  pack-horse  or  rude  sledge  took  the  place  of  the 
wagon.     The   farming    was    generally   of    the   roughest 
kind,  but  the  land  was  new  and  fertile. 
Habits  of  the  There  were  many  backwoodsmen  who  had  a  dress  of 

backwoodsmen. 

their  own.  They  wore  loose  hunting-shirts  of  deer-skin 
or  homespun,  a  fur  cap,  moccasins,  and  buckskin  leggins. 
These  woodsmen  lived  by  hunting,  by  trapping,  by  poling 
boats  and  driving  pack-horses,  by  small  Indian  trading,  and 
sometimes  by  petty  farming.  Until  after  the  Revolution, 
mechanics  and  workingmen  wore  leathern  breeches. 
Negro  slaves.  Of  the  nearly  four  millions  of  people  in  the  United 

States   in    1790,  about  one   seventh    were   negro   slaves. 


HOME  AND   SOCIETY  IN    WASHINGTON'S    TIME.     2\l 

Slavery  had  existed  in  Massachusetts  from  an  early 
period,  but  it  had  been  declared  illegal  by  the  courts  of 
that  State  about  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  In  every 
other  State  there  were  slaves.  But  they  were  compara- 
tively few  in  the  Northern  States,  which  had  no  agricult- 
ure in  which  slave-labor  was  profitable.  Of  the  North- 
ern States,  New  York  had  the  most  slaves — more  than 
twenty  thousand.  Nearly  seven  eighths  of  all  the  slaves 
were  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  the  two  Carolinas. 
These  were  the  lands  of  tobacco,  indigo,  and  rice  culture. 

In  parts  of  these  States  country  life  preserved  aris-  Traits  of  life 
tocratic  forms  derived  from  England.     Here,  until  after 
the  Revolution,  the  oldest  son  of  the  family  inherited  the 
land,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  old  English  law. 
Some  of  the  great  planters  lived  like  nobles.     They      f 
were  accustomed  to  manage  public  affairs,  and  from 
this  class  came  some  of  the  most  eminent  statesmen 
of  the  period   following  the   Revolution.      Virginia 
was  called  "  the  Mother  of   Presidents,"  because  so 
many  of    the    early   presidents   were   born  in  that 
State.     But  the  poorer  people  at  the  South  had 
little  or  no  chance  for  education,  and  were  gen- 
erally rude  and  illiterate.     There  were  few  towns 
in  the  Southern  States,  very  few  mechanics,  and  little 
of  the  ship-building  and  manufactures  that  were  soon  to 
make  New  England  rich.     But  in  Washington's  time  the 
Southern   States  were  the   richest   as  well  as  the   most 
populous.     If    they  had  but   little   town    life,  there  was 
much  social  gayety  in  the  plantation-houses. 

The  so-called  cities  of  the  United  States,  at  the  time  society  in  the 

cities. 

of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  were  only  what 
would  now  be  counted  towns  of  moderate  size.  But 


212 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Costume  in 

Washington's 

time. 


HIGH    HEAD-ORES 
OF   THE    TIME. 


Comparative  c 
comfort  of  the 
life  of  the  time 


in  each  of  these  little  capitals  there  was  an  upper  class 
which  affected  the  style  and  fashion  of  the  English 
gentry.  Gentlemen  and  ladies  gathered  at  fashionable 
houses  in  the  afternoon,  and  spent  the  time  in  talking, 
and  sipping  tea  from  dainty  little  china  cups.  Some- 
times large  parties  rode  out  to  a  public  garden  in  the 
country,  or  a  tavern  by  the  sea-side,  to  drink  tea.  In 
most  of  the  chief  towns  there  were  held  once  in  two 
weeks  "assemblies,"  or  balls.  At  these  assemblies  there 
were  stately  minuets  and  country-dances,  and  much 
money  was  lost  and  won  at  card-tables  in  a  room  pre- 
pared for  fashionable  gambling,  which  was  then  one  of 
the  recognized  amusements  of  good  society. 

About  the  time  of  the  Revolution  gentlemen  wore 
their  hair  long,  and  powdered  it  white.  Ladies  dressed 
their  hair  in  a  lofty  tower.  One  fine  lady  of  the  time 
paid  six  hundred  dollars  a  year  to  her  hair-dresser. 
Gentlemen,  as  well  as  ladies,  wore  bright  colors  and  a 
variety  of  rich  fabrics,  so  that  a  fashionable  assembly  pre- 
sented a  gay  appearance.  "  Short-clothes,"  or  breeches 
coming  to  the  knee  only,  were  still  fashionable ;  only 
very  plain  men  wore  long  trousers,  and  even  these  were 
obliged  to  put  on  short-clothes  if  they  wished  to  attend 
a  concert  or  ball. 

But,  with  all  this  gayety  in  the  upper  ranks  of  so- 
ciety, life  was  less  comfortable  then  than  now.  The 
is-  common  people  lived  hardly,  with  few  comforts  and 
fewer  luxuries.  Even  the  rich,  with  all  their  loaded 
tables  and  fine  show,  lacked  some  of  the  substantial 
comforts  of  our  modern  life.  There  was  more  drinking 
to  excess  then,  and  there  was  less  refinement  in  speech 
and  manners,  than  there  is  now. 


WASHINGTON'S  PRESIDENCY.  313 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

WASHINGTON'S  PRESIDENCY,  FROM  1789  TO  1797. 

BEFORE  the  Revolution,  officers  of  state  affected  a  Aristocratic 
great  deal  of  dignity,  and  public  life  was  attended  with  colonies, 
much  ceremony,  borrowed  from  the  customs  which  pre- 
vailed in  England.  Much  of  that  division  of  society  into 
classes  which  prevails  in  England  had  passed  over  to 
this  country.  Students  in  Harvard  College,  for  example, 
were  placed  in  a  certain  order  in  the  catalogue  accord- 
ing to  the  supposed  rank  of  their  fathers,  and  a  student 
was  required  to  yield  the  baluster  side  of  the  stairs  to 
his  social  superior,  though  he  might  be  the  veriest  dunce 
in  the  school. 

But  the  American   Revolution   had  two   sides   to  it.  Democratic 

T-  feeling  in  the 

Apparently  it  was  only  a  resistance  to  English  oppres-  Revolution, 
sion.  But,  in  resisting  oppression,  the  claim  was  set  up 
that  the  poor  man's  rights  were  as  sacred  as  the  rich 
man's,  and  from  this  came  the  assertion  that,  in  matters 
of  right,  all  men  ought  to  be  free  and  equal.  This  led 
the  Legislature  of  Virginia  to  modify  its  laws  regarding 
negroes  and  Indians,  and  the  courts  in  Massachusetts  to 
declare  slavery  illegal.  A  few  years  before  the  Revo- 
lution the  social  distinctions  in  Harvard  College  were 
abandoned  ;  and  the  thought  of  the  equal  rights  of  men 
which  runs  through  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
spread  easily  among  the  people  in  a  new  country  such 
as  the  United  States  was  at  this  time,  for  most  of  the 
people  were  plain,  hard-working  folk,  leading  independ- 
ent lives,  and  resenting  the  arrogance  of  the  great. 


214 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


The  question  of 


Washington  not 
a  partisan. 


Anti- Federalists. 


But  when  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  and  a  new 
government  was  to  take  a  place  in  the  family  of  nations 
alongside  the  great  kingdoms  of  Europe,  it  became  a 
question  of  how  much  of  the  old  English  pomp  and 
s  ceremony  there  should  be  about  it.  Most  of  the  men 
in  public  life  were  used  to  the  old  colonial  titles, 
and  the  United  States  Senate  wished  to  address 
Washington  as  "  His  Highness  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  Protector  of  their  Liberties." 
But  the  people  generally,  filled  with  ideas  of  the 
equality  of  men,  disliked  such  pompous  titles,  and  so 
it  was  thought  enough  to  call  him  "  The  President  of 
the  United  States."  But  so  fixed  were  the  old  no- 
tions that  fashionable  people  could  not  bring  themselves 
to  speak  of  the  wife  of  their  President  as  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton ;  it  became  customary  to  call  her  "  Lady  Washington." 
The  capital  of  the  country,  which  was  at  first  in  New 
York,  was  removed  to  Philadelphia  in  1791,  to  remain 
there  until  it  should  be  fixed  permanently  on  the  Potomac 
River.  Washington  was  re-elected  in  1792  without  op- 
position. He  kept  himself  aloof  from  political  parties, 
and  tried  to  be  impartial.  But  his  preference  for  a 
strong  central  government  attached  him  rather  to  the 
party  called  Federalist  than  to  its  opponents. 

In  the  fierce  struggle  that  led  to  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution,  those  who  favored  the  federal  system  of 
government  took  the  name  of  Federalists ;  those  who 
opposed  the  adoption  of  the  new  Constitution  were 
known  as  anti-Federalists.  Some  of  these  opponents  were 
great  patriots  like  Patrick  Henry.  SamueJ  Adams  was 
also  for  a  time  in  opposition.  We  must  remember  that, 
until  the  Constitution  was  actually  tried,  there  was  room 


WASHINGTON'S  PRESIDENCY.  215 

for  doubt  as  to  how  it  would  work,  and,  as  the  colonies 
had  suffered  from  the  King  and  the  Parliament  of  Eng- 
land, the  States  were  naturally  afraid  that  a  President 
and  a  national  Congress  might  prove  as  bad. 

After  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  there  were  still  The  Federalist 
many  questions  to  be  settled.  The  Federalists  were  in 
favor  of  construing  the  Constitution  so  as  to  strengthen 
the  central  government.  They  also  liked  to  see  the 
government  conducted  with  pomp  and  ceremony.  The 
Federalist  party  was  strong  in  the  cities,  and  among 
people  of  wealth  and  those  devoted  to  commerce.  Such 
people  in  that  day  were  generally  aristocratic  in  their 
feelings,  and  leaned  to  English  ways.  In  the  war  be- 
tween England  and  France,  the  sympathies  of  the  Fed- 
eralists were  in  favor  of  England  and  against  France. 

When  once  the  battle  over  the  Constitution  was  The  Republican 
ended,  opposition  to  it  also  ended,  and  there  were  no  P 
more  anti-Federalists.  But  those  who  had  opposed  the 
federal  system,  and  some  who  had  favored  it,  set  them- 
selves to  interpret  the  Constitution  in  such  a  way  as  to 
limit  as  much  as  possible  the  authority  of  the  Federal 
Government.  This  party  was  called  the  Republican, 
and  sometimes  the  Democratic  Republican  party ;  but 
it  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Republican  party 
of  later  times.  The  members  of  this  party  were  afraid 
that  the  United  States  Government  would  grow  too 
strong,  and  perhaps  overthrow  the  liberties  of  the  peo- 
ple. They  wished  to  increase  the  power  of  the  States 
and  diminish  that  of  the  United  States.  They  cherished 
ideas  of  individual  liberty  and  equality,  and  were  afraid  of 
an  aristocracy.  The  old  Republican  or  Democratic  party 
of  that  day  sympathized  with  France,  which  had,  in  the 


216 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Alexander 
Hamilton. 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON. 


great  Revolution  of  1789,  overthrown  the  monarchy  and 
set  up  a  republic,  and  the  Republicans  disliked  England. 
Many  of  them  at  one  time  showed  their  partisanship  by 
wearing  the  tricolored  cockade  worn  by  republicans  in 
France.  The  Republican  party  in  America  wished  to 
bring  in  republican  manners  and  simple  tastes,  and  they 
objected  to  the  stately  ceremonies  which  Washington 
and  the  Federalists  liked. 

The  leader  of  the  Federalists  was  General  Alexan- 
der Hamilton.  This  great  man  was  born  in  the  Island 
of  Nevis,  in  the  West  Indies,  in  January,  1757.  His 
father  was  poor,  and  he  was  put  into  a  counting- 
house.  At  fifteen  years  of  age  he  wrote  for  the 
"  St.  Christopher's  Gazette  "  an  account  of  a  hur- 
ricane that  had  just  desolated  the  Leeward  West 
India  Islands.  The  remarkable  ability  shown  in 
this  description  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
chief  men  of  the  place,  and  the  boy  was  sent  to 
the  American  continent  to  be  educated.  In  1774, 
when  but  seventeen  years  of  age,  while  a  student 
in  King's  College  (now  Columbia  College),  in  New  York, 
he  made  a  speech  on  the  Revolutionary  side  at  a  large 
meeting  in  the  fields,  which  at  once  stamped  him  as  a 
wonderful  youth.  He  also  wrote  several  anonymous 
pamphlets  which  attracted  great  attention,  and  were  at- 
tributed to  the  leading  men  of  the  party.  In  1776,  when 
he  was  but  nineteen,  he  took  command  of  an  artillery 
company,  and  so  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of 
White  Plains  and  in  the  retreat  across  New  Jersey  that 
Washington  put  him  on  his  own  staff.  He  was  employed 
by  Washington  in  many  delicate  and  confidential  mis- 
sions, and  he  distinguished  himself  in  more  than  one 


WA SHINGTON  'S  PRESIDENC  V.  2  j  7 

battle.  He  led  the  assault  on  one  of  the  British  out- 
works at  Yorktown.  But  his  great  work  lay  in  his  efforts 
to  persuade  the  American  people  to  adopt  the  Federal 
Constitution,  by  which  the  national  existence  was  firmly 
established.  As  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  he 
held  Congress  firmly  to  the  duty  of  paying  every  dollar 
of  the  national  debt  at  its  face.  He  also  prevailed  on 
Congress  to  adopt  the  debts  incurred  by  the  States  in 
carrying  on  the  war,  and  he  thus  established  the  credit 
of  the  nation  and  strengthened  the  Federal  authority. 
In  his  notions  of  government  he  favored  English  mod- 
els. Hamilton  was  killed  in  a  duel  with  Aaron  Burr  in 
1804. 

The  leader  of  the  old  Republican  party  was  Thomas  Jefferson  the 
Jefferson,  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Republicans. 
He  was  Secretary  of  State  in  Washington's  first  Cabinet, 
while  Hamilton  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  so  that 
the  chiefs  of  the  two  great  parties  were  in  the  Cabinet 
at  the  same  time,  a  thing  impossible  in  our  day. 

During  Washington's  administration  there  began  Indian  troubles 
those  troubles  with  the  Indians  which  have  plagued  the 
government  and  the  people  of  the  frontiers  from  that 
day  to  this.  The  English  Government  refused  to  sur- 
render forts  which  it  held  among  the  Indian  tribes  in 
what  is  now  Ohio,  and  encouraged  the  savages  to  hos- 
tilities. There  arose  in  consequence  a  most  deadly  and 
cruel  war  between  the  white  settlers  in  Kentucky  and 
the  tribes  living  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  More 
than  fifteen  hundred  Kentucky  settlers  had  been  killed 
in  seven  years,  and  very  many  carried  away  to  die  by 
torture  or  to  languish  in  captivity.  The  name  "  Ken- 
tucky "  signifies  "  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground."  It  was 


218 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Harmer's  defeat. 


KENTUCKY    CAPTIVES. 


so   called    by   the    savages 

because  of  the  fierce  encounters  which  took  place  there 
between  the  different  Indian  tribes,  none  of  whom  dared 
to  inhabit  Kentucky  permanently.  The  horrible  slaugh- 
ters of  settlers  in  the  same  territory  made  it  also  a  dark 
and  bloody  ground  to  the  white  people. 

General  Harmer  was  sent  against  the  Indians  in  Ohio 
in  1790,  but  the  wily  chiefs  Blue  Jacket  and  Little  Tur- 
tle waited  until  he  had  divided  his  troops,  when  they 
fell  on  part  of  them,  and  destroyed  them  almost  utterly. 


WASHINGTON'S  PRESIDENCY.  2IO 

General  St.  Clair  was  selected  to  attack  the  Indians  st.  ciair-s 
in  the  following  year.     He  was  surprised  by  Little  Tur- 
tle and  a  strong  force  of  Indians,  who  routed  his  army. 
The  Indians  butchered  the  wounded  with  the  most  bru- 
tal cruelty  while  St.  Glair's  army  was  in  flight. 

Washington  was  greatly  distressed  at  this  defeat. 
He  now  selected  General  Wayne,  who  had  gained  dis- 
tinction in  the  Revolution,  and  whose  courage  was  such  GENERAL  ST! 
that  he  was  called  "  Mad  Anthony  Wayne."  Wayne 
was  born  in  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1745. 
He  received  a  good  education  for  the  time,  and  be- 
came a  land-surveyor.  During  the  troublous  times  of 
1774  and  1775  Wayne  devoted  himself  to  drilling  military 
companies  in  his  own  county.  He  entered  the 
army  as  colonel  in  1776,  and  distinguished  him- 
self in  many  actions.  His  most  notable  ex- 
ploit, perhaps,  was  the  storming  of  Stony 
Point,  on  the  Hudson.  This  formidable  work 
he  carried  at  midnight  by  a  bayonet-charge, 
the  soldiers'  guns  being  empty.  He  after- 
ward handled  a  small  force  in  Georgia  in 
such  a  way  as  to  hold  in  check  a  much  larger 
body  of  British  troops.  It  was  his  careful  organ- 
ization and  bold  execution  of  various  enterprises 
during  the  Revolution  which  caused  his  selection  by 
Washington  to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  the  Indian  war 
after  St.  Clair's  defeat. 

Wayne  was  as   prudent  as   he  was    brave.     The   In-  waync-s  victory 

on  the  Maumee, 

dians    called    him    "  The    Black    Snake,"  and   they  also  1794. 
called    him  "  The  Chief  who  never  Sleeps."     After  try- 
ing  in   vain   to    make   peace   with   the    Indians,  Wayne 
attacked   and   defeated   them,  driving   them   from   their 


HTHONY    WAYNE. 


220 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


WAYNE'S    CAMPAIGI 
UGAINST   THE    INDIAN 


The  whisky 
rebellion,   1794. 


Retirement  and 
death  of  Wash- 
ington. 


hiding-places  by  a 
brilliant  bayonet- 
charge.  This  bat- 
tle was  fought  in 
1794,  on  the  Mau- 
mee  River,  in  north- 
western Ohio.  The 
Indians  received  a 

chastisement  so  severe  that  it  gained  a  peace 
which  lasted  eighteen  years;  When  Wayne 
returned  from  this  successful  expedition  against 
the  Indians,  he  was  received  in  Philadelphia 
in  triumph. 

There  was  about  this  time  a  rebellion  in  western 
Pennsylvania,  known  as  "  the  Whisky  Insurrection." 
The  people  of  that  remote  region  raised  Indian  corn. 
The  roads  over  the  mountains  were  such  that  they  could 
not  well  haul  this  corn  to  market,  so  they  fell  to  making 
it  into  whisky,  in  which  shape  it  was  less  bulky  and 
more  easily  carried.  The  new  United  States  tax  on 
whisky  interfered  with  this  business,  and  the  people  rose 
against  the  revenue  officers.  Washington  sent  troops 
to  enforce  the  law,  and  the  people  submitted  after  the 
ringleaders  of  the  rebellion  had  fled. 

Washington  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  third 
time,  and  in  September,  1796,  the  "Father  of  his  Coun- 
try "  issued  a  farewell  Address,  full  of  good  advice.  At 
the  end  of  his  term,  in  March,  1797,  he  retired  to  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  spent  his  closing  days  in  peace.  He 
died  December  14,  1799,  in  the  last  month  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  Of  the  many  great  men  of  the  last 
century,  he  was,  though  not  the  most  gifted,  probablv 


TROUBLES    WITH  ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE.         22I 

the  most  illustrious.  The  whole  United  States  paid 
honor  to  his  memory,  and  to  this  time  his  is  the  only 
American  birthday  celebrated  as  a  public  holiday. 


MOUNT   VERNON. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

TROUBLES    WITH    ENGLAND    AND    FRANCE.- 
OF    JOHN    ADAMS. 


-PRESIDENCY 


WHEN   the    English    government   acknowledged    the  Grounds  of  co 

.  plaint  against 

independence  of  the  United  States,  in  1783,  there  re-  England, 
mained  still  in  the  hands  of  English  troops,  as  we  have 
said,  certain  military  posts  in  the  Indian  country  which 
were  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  The 
English  government  retained  these  posts  among  the  In- 
dians, and,  by  the  encouragement  given  to  the  tribes, 
kept  alive  the  Indian  war.  When  Wayne  defeated  the 
Indians  on  the  Maumee,  he  found  Canadians  fighting  on 
the  side  of  the  Indians,  and  he  drove  them  before  him 
under  the  very  guns  of  a  fort  held  by  the  English,  who 
did  not  dare  to  aid  the  savages  and  their  allies.  There 
was  also  much  anger  in  America  against  the  English 
government  on  account  of  the  illegal  seizure  of  Ameri- 
can vessels  by  British  cruisers. 


222 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


France  and  the 
Jay  treaty. 


Election  of  John 
Adams,  1796. 


To  prevent  a  new  war  with  Great  Britain,  Washing- 
ton sent  John  Jay  to  England  in  1794  to  make  a  treaty. 
"  Jay's  Treaty,"  as  it  was  called,  was  very  unpopu- 
lar  in    America,   especially  with    the   members   of 
the  Republican  party,  who  thought  that  it  yield- 
ed too  much  to  England.      But  it  was  confirmed 
by    Washington   and    the    Senate,   for,   according 
to   the    Constitution,    every  treaty  made   with  a 
foreign  nation  must  be  agreed   to   by  the  Sen- 
ate.    It  provided  for  the  surrender  of  the  West- 
ern forts  by  England,  and  it  prevented  a  war  with 
Great  Britain,  which  would   have  been   a   misfor- 
tune  to   so  weak  a  country  as  ours  was  at  that   time. 
When  a  war  with    England  came   at   last,  in   1812,  the 
United    States   had    nearly  twice   as   many  people  as  it 
had  when  the  Jay  treaty  was  made. 

This  treaty  with  Great  Britain  was  exasperating  to 
the  French  government,  which  was  then  engaged  in  war 
with  England.  As  France  had  helped  the  United  States 
to  gain  its  independence,  the  French  expected  the  assist- 
ance of  America  in  their  new  war  with  England.  Wash- 
ington wisely  kept  this  country  free  from  alliances  with 
either  of  the  contending  nations. 

In  1796  John  Adams,  the  candidate  of  the  Federalist 
party,  was  chosen  President  over  Thomas  Jefferson,  who 
was  the  candidate  of  the  Republicans,  or  Democrats. 
Adams,  who  was  the  son  of  a  farmer,  was  born  in  Brain- 
tree,  Mass.,  in  1735.  He  graduated  at  Harvard,  taught 
school  for  two  years,  and  began  the  practice  of  law  when 
he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age.  He  took  an  active 
part  in  the  Stamp- Act  agitations  from  1765  onward.  He 
removed  to  Boston  in  1768,  and  soon  became  a  leading 


TROUBLES    WITH  ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE. 


223 


JOHN    ADAMS. 


lawyer  and  a  chief  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary party.  Adams  was  one  of 
the  foremost  men  in  the  Congress 
of  1774  and  1775,  and  was  one  of 
the  leading  advocates  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence.  He  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  nego- 
tiate the  treaty  of  peace  with  Eng- 
land, and  was  minister  at  London 
for  three  years.  Adams  was  Vice- 
President  during  the  whole  of  Wash- 
ington's presidency.  He  was  an 

able  and  courageous  man,  honest  and  true  to  his  con- 
victions, but  irritable  and  somewhat  quarrelsome.  His 
peculiarities  had  something  to  do  with  his  unpopularity 
and  his  defeat  when  he  ran  for  the  presidency  a  second 
time.  He  died  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  exactly  fifty 
years  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  on  the 
same  day  with  his  ancient  rival,  Jefferson. 

The    administration    of    Adams   was    occupied    with 
the   difficulties    with    France.      That   country,   after  the 
great  Revolution  that  overthrew  the  monarchy  in  1789,    I~ 
had  now  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  government  called 
the   "  Directory."      It  was   composed   of   five   directors.     CANNONEER,  1797. 
The   successes  which   their   armies   achieved  under  the 
command  of  the  rising  young  general,  Napoleon  Bona-  Discourteous  be- 
parte,    made    the    Directory   very   overbearing.      When  French  Direct- 
the    United    States    sent   a   new   minister  to    Paris,   the 
French   government   refused   to   receive  him,  and  pres- 
ently ordered  him  to  leave  the  country. 

In  1797,  President  Adams,  who  desired  to  avoid  a  war  The  Directory 

seek  to  extort 

if   possible,  sent  three  envoys   to  France,   having   assur-  money  from  the 

United  States. 


224 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


"  Not  one  cent 
for  tribute  !  " 


Peace  made  with 
Napoleon   Bona- 
parte. 


Removal  of  the 
capital  to  Wash- 
ington, 1800. 


ances  that  they  would  be  received  with  honor.  But 
the  American  envoys  were  informed  that,  in  order  to 
secure  a  peace,  the  United  States  must  make  a  loan  to 
the  French  government  and  pay  secret  bribes  to  the 
members  of  the  Directory. 

The  envoys  refused  this  dishonorable  demand,  and, 
when  it  was  known  in  America,  the  popular  cry  became, 
"  Millions  for  defense,  but  not  one  cent  for  tribute  !  " 
The  tripolored  cockade  was  no  longer  worn,  but  a  black 
cockade  was  put  on  by  those  in  favor  of  a  war  with 
France.  "  Hail,  Columbia,"  then  a  new  song,  became 
universally  popular.  Ships  were  built,  an  army  was 
raised,  and  Washington  was  made  commander-in-chief. 

But  the  French  did  not  wish  a  war,  and  Napoleon  Bo- 
naparte, who  had  now  overthrown  the  French  Directory, 
made  a  new  agreement  with  the  United  States  in  Septem- 
ber, 1800.  Thus  the  infant  country  again  escaped  a  war. 
In  the  year  1800  the  government  was  removed  from 
Philadelphia  to  Washington  City.  In  1790  Congress  had 
resolved  to  fix  the  perma- 
nent capital  on  the  Potomac 
River,  and  the  selection  of 
the  site  was  left  to  Wash- 
ington himself.  When  the 
government  moved  there,  in 
1800,  the  place  was  almost  a 
wilderness.  The  few  people 
living  in  the  new  town  were 
scattered  over  the  whole  region,  and  one  sometimes 
had  to  go  a  mile  or  two  through  a  forest  to  see  his 
next-door  neighbor,  though  both  were  living  within  the 
"  Federal  City,"  as  Washington  had  named  it. 


THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 


225 


It   was   thought   desirable   that   the    national    capital  The  District  or 

Columbia. 

should  not  be  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  State.  A 
tract  ten  miles  square  was  given  by  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land to  form  the  District  of  Columbia.  But  the  portion 
taken  from  Virginia  was  afterward  ceded  back  to  that 
State.  The  District  of  Columbia  is  governed  wholly  by 
laws  made  in  Congress,  in  which  its  inhabitants  have  no 
representative. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

ELECTION   OF   JEFFERSON.— WAR   WITH   TRIPOLI. 

THE  Federalists  favored  a  strong  gov- 
ernment, as  we  have  said,  and,  like  every 
party,  they  were  inclined  to  carry  their 
principles  to  an  extreme.  In  the  excite- 
ment caused  by  the  troubles  between  the 
United  States  and  France  they  were  led  to 
pass  laws  more  stringent  than  was  neces- 
sary, and  certainly  more  severe  than  pub- 
lic opinion  justified.  Foreigners  were  required  to  live 
in  America  fourteen  years  before  they  could  be  natu-  The  an 
ralized.  By  what  was  called  the  "Alien  Law,"  the 
President  was  given  authority  to  send  out  of  the 
country,  without  trial,  any  "  alien "  or  unnaturalized 
foreigner.  By  the  "  Sedition  Law,"  speakers  and  news- 
paper writers  were  to  be  severely  punished  for  "  libel- 
ing "  the  officers  of  the  government.  Many  of  the  peo- 
ple thought  the  alien  law  took  away  the  right  of  trial 
by  jury,  and  that  the  sedition  law  attacked  free  speech 

16 


THOMAS     JEFFERSON. 


ELECTION  OF  JEFFERSOX.  227 

and  a  free  press.  The  unpopularity  of  these  laws  con- 
tributed to  the  overthrow  of  the  Federal  party,  and  the 
cry  of  "  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws "  was  kept  up 
against  the  party  to  the  end  of  its  existence. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1800,  John  Adams  was  services  ren- 
the  Federalist  candidate  a  second  time,  but  he  was  de-  p«d«*»iteta. 
feated,  and  the  Federalist  party  never  was  able  to  elect 
another  President.    The  Federalists  had  secured  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Federal  Constitution  ;  they  had  made  the  na- 
tional government  strong ;  and  they  had  begun  the  work 
of  paying  the  national  debt  in  full,  and  so  making  the 
credit  of  the  government  good.     No  party  ever  did  a 
better  work  than  the  Federalists  did  in  bringing  a  bank- 
rupt and  disorderly  confederacy  into  a  firm  union. 

But  the  Federalists  leaned  too  much  to  the  English  The  Republican 
notions   of   government   that   had    prevailed    before   the  work. 
Revolution.     The  Republicans  held  more  to  the  equality 
of  men ;   they  trusted  the  people,  and  believed  in  prog- 
ress toward   a   larger  personal   liberty.     The  Federalist 
movement  made  us  a  nation  ;  but  the  movement  repre- 
sented   by  the  old    Republican   party  made  us  republi- 
cans and  Americans. 

The  events  which  took  place  during  the  election  of  The  old  mode 

of  electing  a 

1800  disclosed  a  serious  defect  in  the  workings  of  the  President. 
Constitution.  The  convention  which  framed  that  instru- 
ment had  been  afraid  to  trust  the  people  with  the  elec- 
tion of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation,  perhaps  be- 
cause they  had  not  been  accustomed  to  such  an  election 
by  the  people  in  the  colonies.  At  one  time  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  to  have  the 
President  elected  by  Congress ;  but  this  seemed  to  make 
him  too  dependent  on  that  body.  So  a  new  plan  was 


22g  HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

invented.  The  people  were  to  choose  "  electors "  in 
every  State,  in  proportion  to  the  population  of  the  State, 
or  rather  to  its  number  of  representatives  in  Congress. 
Each  of  these  electors  was  to  vote  for  two  men  for 
President.  The  one  receiving  the  highest  vote  was  to 
be  President,  the  one  receiving  the  second  highest  num- 
ber was  to  be  Vice-President.  This  plan  produced  a 
quite  unexpected  effect  in  1796,  in  which  year  John 
Adams  was  made  President,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  the 
leader  of  the  opposite  party,  became  Vice-President. 
struggle  between  in  T  goo  the  Republicans  resolved  to  elect  Jefferson 

Jefferson  and 

Burr  in  1800.  President  and  Aaron  Burr  Vice-President ;  but,  as  the 
only  way  of  electing  a  Vice-President  was  by  voting 
for  him  as  one  of  the  two  candidates  for  President,  it 
happened  that  both  Jefferson  and  Burr  received  the 
votes  of  all  the  Republican  electors,  and  had,  therefore, 
exactly  the  same  number  of  electoral  votes,  although 
nobody  had  thought  of  Burr  for  President.  The  Con- 
stitution provided  then,  as  it  does  now,  that  the  choice 
between  the  two,  in  case  of  a  tie-vote,  should  be  by 
the  House  of  Representatives.  The  Federalists  dis- 
liked Jefferson  in  particular,  as  the  great  chief  of  the 
Republicans ;  the  most  of  them,  therefore,  voted  for 
Burr.  This  produced  a  new  tie  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  there  was  danger  that  the  4th 
of  March  would  arrive  and  find  the  country  without 
a  President ;  but,  after  a  long  struggle,  some  of  the 
Federalists  cast  blank  votes,  and  allowed  Jefferson  to 
be  elected. 

The  constitution          This  dangerous  struggle  led  to  a  change  in  the  Con- 
changed. 

stitution,  by  which  the  electors  were  to  vote  for  but  one 

candidate    for    President    and    one    for    Vice-President. 


AMERICAN    SEAMA 
JEFFERSON'S   TI 


WAR    WITH   TRIPOLI. 


229 


AMERICAN    SOLDIERS 
ABOUT    1800. 


England    and  Prosperity  of 

American  com- 


This  method  of  voting  for  electors  still  prevails,  but  it 
has  not  served  the  purpose  intended  by  the  founders  of 
the  government.  They  hoped  that  each  State  would 
choose  a  body  of  its  ablest  men,  and  that  the  people 
would  leave  the  work  of  choosing  a  President  to  these 
electors.  But  the  people  vote  for  electors,  each  pledged 
to  vote  for  a  particular  man.  The  voter  takes  no  notice 
of  the  names  of  the  men  for  whom  he  votes  as  electors  ; 
he  really  votes  for  the  candidate  for  President.  The 
electors  only  serve  to  record  the  popular  vote  by  States. 

During  Jefferson's  time,  the  United  States  was  at 
peace  with  all  the  great  powers.  The  wars  raging  in 
Europe  had  injured  the  commerce  of 

France.      Foreign    merchants,  whose  countries  were   at  merce. 
war,  preferred  to    send  goods  in  American  vessels,  to 
prevent  their  being  captured  by  the  enemy.     In  this  way 
American  commerce  became  very  prosperous. 

The   little    Mohammedan  states,  along   the  southern  war  with  the 
coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  had  long  carried  on  a  pirati- 
cal  warfare  against  the  trade  of  Christian  countries.     The 
nations  of  northern  Europe  paid  them  a  yearly  tribute  to 
protect  their  ships  from  robbery.      The    United    States 
was  obliged  to  redeem  from  slavery  Americans  captured 
by  the  Dey  of  Algiers,  and  also  to  pay  tribute.     But  in 
1  80  1  the    Pasha  of   Tripoli,    having    been   refused   addi- 
tional   presents,    broke    into 
open  war. 

This  war  may  almost  be 
said  to  mark  the  birth  of 
the  American  navy.  It  was 
a  period  in  which  Amer- 
icans were  fond  of  danger- 


" 


230 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


war.    Peace,  1805. 


The  later  war 
with  Algiers. 
Abolition  of 
tribute,  1815. 


of  ous  exploits.  The  officers  and  men  of  this  small  sea- 
Ms  force,  mostly  recruited  from  merchant-ships,  performed 
acts  of  daring  before  Tripoli  which  have  never  been 
forgotten,  and  which  yet  serve  for  an  example  to  their 
successors.  In  many  actions  Americans  boarded  the 
pirate-ships,  and  fought  in  desperate  hand-to-hand  en- 
counters, with  swords,  pikes,  and  bayonets.  The  frig- 
ate Philadelphia,  having  run  on  the  rocks,  was  captured 
by  the  Tripolitans,  and  the  crew  reduced  to  slavery. 
Lieutenant  Decatur  ran  into  the  harbor  at  night  in  a 
ketch,  boarded  the  frigate  and  burned  her,  escaping 
with  his  men  by  rowing  his  little  boat  under  a 
storm  of  fire  from  the  enemy's  batteries.  After  four 
years  of  blockade  and  war,  the  obstinate  ruler  of  Trip- 
oli was  brought  to  terms.  He  made  a  treaty  of 
peace  in  1805. 

But  in  1812,  Algiers,  another  of  the  Barbary 
powers,  declared  war  against  this  country,  capt- 
ured American  vessels,  and  reduced  the  crews  to 
slavery.  The  same  Stephen  Decatur,  who,  as  a  lieuten- 
ant, burned  the  Philadelphia,  was  sent  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  in  1815,  as  commodore  of  a  squadron.  He 
captured  the  chief  vessels  of  the  Dey,  and  forced  that 
prince  to  release  his  prisoners,  and  to  come  on  board 
the  commodore's  ship  and  sign  a  treaty.  The  United 
States  never  afterward  paid  tribute  to  any  of  the  pirate 
powers. 


THE   SETTLEMENT  OF   THE   GREAT    VALLEY.      331 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  GREAT  VALLEY. 

THE  first  settlers  in   Virginia  tried   more  than  once  Early  expedi- 

r       i  111  *        tions  to  the 

to  reach  the  mountains,  hoping  to  find  gold  there.  At  westward, 
a  later  period  the  Virginians  sought  to  cross  the  mount- 
ains in  order  to  get  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  1679  a 
German  explorer  named  Lederer  tried  to  go  across  the 
mountains  from  Virginia ;  but  the  people  who  went  with 
him  deserted  him,  and,  though  he  boldly  pursued  his 
journey  alone  and  returned  safely,  he  seems  barely  to 
have  succeeded  in  reaching  the  mountains,  and  he  cer- 
tainly did  not  come  anywhere  near  to  the  Pacific.  Gov- 
ernor Spotswood,  of  Virginia,  also  tried  to  go  through 
the  mountains  with  a  company  of  gentlemen,  and  he 
claimed  to  have  discovered  a  pass  by  which  one  could 
get  over.  When  he  came  back  he  instituted  an  order  of 
"  Knights  of  the  Golden  Horseshoe,"  formed  at  first  of 
those  who  had  been  with  him  on  the  journey.  The 
people  in  the  colonies  commonly  rode  their  horses  bare- 
foot ;  but  for  this  extraordinary  journey  in  the  mount- 
.ains,  where  there  were  rocks,  it  became  necessary  to  shoe 
the  horses.  Hence  the  name  of  this  order,  every  mem- 
ber of  which  wore  a  golden  horseshoe. 

But,  while  the  French  were  exploring  the  whole  in-  opposition  to 

'Western  settle- 

tenor  valley  and  making  friends  and  allies  of  many  sav-  ment. 
age  tribes,  the  English  authorities  in  the  colonies  were 
without  much  enterprise  in  this  direction.    It  was  thought 
by    English   statesmen   that   settlements   in   the   interior 
would  neither  buy  English  goods  nor  be  subject  to  Eng- 


232 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


lish  control,  so  that  it  was  a  favorite  plan  with  them  at 
one  time  to  establish  a  western  boundary  beyond  which 
the   settlements   should    not   advance,  which    was   much 
like  making  a  law  to  regulate  the  tides  of  the  sea. 
Descent  of  the  But  the  mysterious  wilderness,  infested  by  tribes  of 

Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi, fierce  and  cruel  Indians,  piqued  the  curiosity  of  daring 

men,  and  from  time  to  time  one  and  another  ventured 
to  push  far  into  the  unknown  land  and  bring  back 
strange  stories  of  its  appearance.  It  was  told  that  one 
John  Howard,  with  his  son,  at  an  early  period,  had 
traveled  through  the  desolate  mountains  to  the  Ohio 
River.  Here  they  killed  a  buffalo-bull  and  made  a  boat 
by  stretching  the  animal's  hide  over  ribs  of  wood,  after 
the  frontiersman's  manner.  In  this  frail  craft  they  made 
their  way  many  thousands  of  miles  down  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Rivers  to  New  Orleans,  where  the  French 
authorities,  who  then  possessed  Louisiana,  sent  them  to 
France  on  suspicion  of  being  spies.  They  were  afterward 
released,  and  got  back  to  Virginia.  In  1766  the  same 
perilous  voyage  was  made  in  a  pirogue  by  Captain  Gor- 
don, a  British  engineer. 

The  pioneer  Jn  the   gradual   spread  of   settlements   from  the  sea 

back  toward  the  mountains  there  had  been  formed  a  new 
race  of  men,  the  like  of  whom  the  world  had  hardly  ever 
known  before.  These  were  the  frontiersmen,  who  kept 
moving  forward  in  advance  of  the  settlements ;  men  lov- 
ing solitude,  hardship,  and  danger  for  their  own  sakes. 
The  whole  power  of  the  British  Empire  could  not  have 
prevented  these  daring  fellows  from  following  their  im- 
pulse and  pushing  across  the  mountains  into  the  western 
valleys.  They  were  trained  from  their  youth  in  all  the 
arts  by  which  a  backwoodsman  lives  without  buying  or 


THE    SETTLEMENT  OF   THE   GREAT    VALLEY.      333 

selling.     Such  men  know  how  to  get  food  and    raiment 
and  shelter  in  the  most  desolate  wilderness  with  no  other 
tools  than  a  trusty  rifle  and  a  sharp  knife,  and  no  sup- 
plies but  what  they  can  carry  in  powder-horns  and  bullet- 
bags.     If  the  first  settlements  at  Jamestown  and  Plym- 
outh could  have  been  planted  by  such  a  race  of  pio- 
neers, half  the  early  miseries  of  these  colonies  would 
have  been  avoided. 

One  of  the  finest  types  of  this  class  was  Daniel 
Boone.     He  lived  on  the  Yadkin  River,  in  North 
Carolina.     As  early  as   1760  Boone  crossed   the 
Alleghanies  into  the  unbroken  wilderness.     There 
stands,  or  stood  until  lately,  a  tree  in  Eastern  Ten- 
nessee  which  bore  the   following  inscription  carved 
upon  it,  probably  by  Boone  himself,  with  that  awkward 
use    of    letters    to    be    expected    of    a    backwoodsman : 
"  D.  Boon  Cilled  A.  Bar  On  Tree  in  ThE  yEAR  1760." 

In  1769  Boone  went  into  what  is  now  Kentucky  with  Boone  settles 
a  party.  One  of  his  companions  was  killed  by  the  In- 
dians, one  was  eaten  by  wolves,  and  three  were  lost, 
no  one  knows  how.  Boone  himself  had  been  seven 
days  a  captive  among  the  Indians,  but  had  managed  to 
escape.  There  being  no  one  left  but  Boone  and  his 
brother,  the  brother  went  back  for  ammunition  and 
horses,  and  Daniel  Boone  was  for  one  winter  the  only 
white  inhabitant  of  Kentucky.  During  this  time  he  had 
frequently  to  change  his  sleeping-place  from  night  to 
night  in  order  to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands  of  lurking 
savages ;  and  he  had  an  encounter  with  a  bear,  from 
whose  grip  he  only  saved  himself  by  killing  it  with  his 
knife.  At  this  time  he  was  three  years  without  tasting 
bread  or  salt.  After  he  had  built  a  palisaded  fort  and 


234  HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

brought  settlers  to  Kentucky,  his  daughter  and  two 
other  young  girls  were  carried  off  by  the  savages,  and 
Boone  was  captured  in  trying  to  rescue  them.  He  was 
only  released  by  an  attack  made  by  his  friends  when  he 
had  been  tied  to  a  tree  to  be  put  to  death.  Carried 
into  captivity  afterward,  he  barely  escaped  torture,  and 
was  adopted  into  the  tribe,  from  which  he  escaped  in 
time  to  warn  his  friends  at  Boonsborough  that  a  party 
was  marching  to  attack  the  place.  In  a  fight  with  two 
Indians  he  exposed  himself  enough  to  draw  the  fire  of 
one  of  them,  whom  he  shot;  then,  drawing  the  fire  of 
the  other  in  the  same  way  and  dodging  it,  he  came  to  a 
hand-to-hand  struggle,  and  warded  a  blow  from  the  sav- 
age's tomahawk  with  his  empty  gun  while  he  killed 
his  antagonist  with  his  knife.  Boone  survived  his  perils, 
and  lived  to  see  populous  States  where  he  had  explored 
trackless  forests.  He  'died  in  Missouri,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three. 
Hardihood  of  the  Kentucky  was  settled  by  men  of  this  tvpe,  and  an 

pioneers. 

equally  bold  race  took  possession  of  Tennessee  and  of 
the  other  States  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  The  incessant 
conflicts  with  the  savages,  who  were  encouraged  by  the 
English  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Revolution, 
would  have  disheartened  men  and  women  of  any  other 
type.  But  in  the  middle  of  every  stockade  like  Boons- 
borough  there  was  an  open  space  where  these  daring 
people,  when  not  actually  beleaguered  by  Indians  or 
engaged  in  toil,  forgot  their  hardships  and  perils  in 
social  intercourse  or  passed  their  leisure  hours  in  merry 
frolics  and  dances.  This  race,  now  disappearing,  was 
distinctly  the  product  of  American  conditions,  and  has 
left  its  stamp  upon  the  interior  country  to  this  day. 


THE   SETTLEMENT  OF   THE   GREAT    VALLEY. 


235 


Some   of    the   colonies    had    been    chartered    to   run  Territory  north 
through  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  these  claimed  all  the  ceded  to  the  Gen- 
territory  west  of  them  as  far  as  the  United   States  ex-  eral  Government- 
tended — that  is,  to  the  Mississippi  River.     The  Virginia 
charter,   which   was   the   oldest,  made   the   line   of   that 
colony  run  "west  and  northwest."     Under  this  charter 
Virginia   claimed    much   of    the   territory    north   of   the 
Ohio  River,  and  all  of  that  which  now  forms  Kentucky. 
The   territory  lying   north    of   the    Ohio  was   ceded   to 
the    United    States    by    Virginia   and    the   other    States 
claiming  it. 

In  1787  this  territory 
was  organized    as  "  The 
Northwest       Territory," 
and  its  government  was 
regulated      by     an     act 
which      has      since      be- 
come    very     celebrated. 
It    is    commonly   known 
as    "  The    Ordinance    of 
Eighty-seven,"   from  the 
year    in    which    it    was 
adopted.    The  Ordinance 
of  Eighty-seven  declared 
that,    in    the    Northwest 
Territory,  all  children  of 
a  father  who    died    without  a   will   should    inherit   the 
estate    equally,   thus   doing   away   with   the   aristocratic  The  Northwest 
privileges   given   to   the   oldest   son   under  the   English  iished  by  the 
and  colonial  laws.     It  also  forbade  slavery  in  the  terri-  Eighth-seven0" 
tory  north  of  the  Ohio.     This  ordinance  made  Ohio,  In- 
diana, Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin  free  States. 


236 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


The  Ohio  pio-  The  foundation  of  the  State  of  Ohio  was  laid  by  a 

company  of  emigrants  from  New  England,  who  settled 
on  the  Muskingum  River  in  1788.  They  were  led  by 
General  Rufus  Putnam  and  the  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler. 
They  called  the  boat  which  floated  them  down  the  river 
on  their  arrival  the  "  Mayflower."  They  called  their 
new  town  Marietta,  in  honor  of  Marie  Antoinette,  then 
Queen  of  France,  who  had  taken  a  lively  interest  in  the 
American  Revolution.  These  settlers  were  a  fine  bodv 
of  educated  people.  They  suffered  many  hardships  and 
perils  during  the  Indian  wars. 

Great  rush  of  Soon  after  the  adoption  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  and 

emigrants  to 

the  west.  the  purchase  of  the  Indian  title  to  the  land,  people  began 

Jo  pour  into  the  Western  country,  some  to  the  north  side 
of  the  Ohio,  others  to  re-enforce  the  settlements  already 
established  by  Boone  and  his  companions  in  Kentucky, 
or  those  founded  by  Robertson,  Sevier,  and  other  pio- 
neers in  Tennessee.  A  large  number  of  Revolutionary 
officers  and  soldiers,  impoverished  by  the  war,  were 
among  these  settlers,  particularly  in  Ohio.  The  first 
emigrants  carried  their  few  goods  over  the  mountains 
on  pack-horses.  Those  settling  on  either  side  of  the 
Ohio  embarked  at  Pittsburg  or  Wheeling  in  large  flat- 
boats  roughly  built  of  green  lumber.  •  In  these  they 
floated  down  the  river  to  one  of  the  new  settlements  on 
its  banks.  The  flat-boat  was  then  broken  up,  and  its 
planks  used  in  building  the  settler's  cabin.  Pennsylvania 
wagons,  after  a  while,  took  the  place  of  the  pack-horse 
in  the  journey  over  the  mountains  to  Pittsburg. 

Rude  and  danger-         The  people  of  this  interior  country  were  almost  shut 

ous  life  of  the 

nrst  settlers  west  out   from   the  world.     They  raised    flax  and  sometimes 

of  the  mountains  ^, 

grew  wool,  and   spun   and  wove  at  home.     Their  spin- 


THE   SETTLEMENT  OF    THE   GREAT    VALLEY.      217 

ning-wheels  and  looms  were  made  by  themselves.  For 
chairs  they  made  rude  stools,  their  tables  and  bedsteads 
were  such  as  they  could  make,  and  they  used  wooden 
bowls  for  dishes.  They  tanned  their  own  leather,  and 
made  rude  shoes  at  home,  but  half  the  year  they  went 
barefoot  when  not  on  a  journey.  The  husks  of  Indian 
corn  were  used  for  making  various  articles,  such  as  ropes, 
horse-collars,  brooms,  and  chair-bottoms.  Barrels  and 
bee-hives  were  made  by  sawing  hollow  trees  into  sec- 
tions. By  splitting  one  of  these  sections  a  child's  cradle 
was  constructed.  For  tea  they  drank  a  decoction  of  sas- 
safras-root or  the  leaves  of  the  crop-vine.  Their  sugar 
they  got  from  the  maple-tree.  Their  small  boat  was  a 
canoe  made  from  a  single  log,  or  a  pirogue,  which  was 
a  canoe  enlarged  by  splitting  it  in  the  middle  lengthwise 
and  inserting  a  plank.  The  danger  from  Indians  was 
so  great  for  many  years  that  the  settlers  never  went  to 
their  fields  without  carrying  their  rifles. 

Whatever    supplies    the    Western   settlers    got,   they  Pack-horse  and 

flat-boat  trade. 

brought  from  the  towns  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mount- 
ains, by  means  of  pack-horses  and  wagons.  Even  iron 
was  thus  imported,  and  in  many  regions  salt  brought  on 
pack-horses  sold  for  ten  dollars  a  pound.  For  these 
goods  the  settlers  exchanged  furs,  ginseng,  and  other 
light  articles.  The  produce  of  Western  farms  was  too 
heavy  to  be  packed  across  the  mountains.  It  could  only 
be  sold  by  floating  it  thousands  of  miles  down  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  Rivers  to  New  Orleans.  This  was  done 
mostly  in  very  large  flat-boats,  which  were  rowed  down 
the  river  with  great  sweeps,  but  could  not  be  brought 
back  against  the  current.  The  flat-boat  men  at  first  got 
home  in  a  roundabout  way  by  taking  passage  on  ships 


2^8  HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

sailing  from  New  Orleans  to  Virginia  or  Maryland,  and 
then  crossing  the  mountains  to  Pittsburg. 
Boats  and  boat-  But,  as  there  was  a  necessity  for  some  trade  up  the 

men   on  the  Ohio        ,  it  i  i  111 

and  Mississippi,  river  as  well  as  down,  there  were  presently  used  the 
"bargee"  and  the  "keel-boat,"  both  of  which  had  sharp- 
ened bows,  and  could  be  toilsomely  forced  up  against  the 
stream  by  setting  poles,  oars,  and  sails  in  turn,  and  which 
sometimes  were  towed,  or  "  cordelled,"  by  the  boatmen 
walking  along  the  shore.  Four  months  were  consumed 
in  the  voyage  from  New  Orleans  to  Pittsburg.  The 
boatmen  were  rude  and  lawless,  and  navigation  was  ren- 
dered dangerous  by  the  Indians  and  highwaymen  that 
infested  the  banks  of  the  rivers. 


CHAPTER   XL. 

THE   PURCHASE   OF.  LOUISIANA  AND   THE   TREASON   OF 
AARON   BURR. 

settlement  of  OF  course,  the  settlements  of  English  people  before 

Louisiana. 

1800  were  all  made  in  the  country  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, which  was  then  the  western  line  of  the  United 
States.  All  the  territory  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  was  included  in  what  was  then  called 
Louisiana.  We  have  related  in  a  previous  chapter  how 
the  region  about  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River 
was  first  explored  by  -La  Salle.  The  first  settlement  in 
Louisiana  was  made  in  1699  by  emigrants  from  France. 
In  1722  New  Orleans  was  made  the  capital  of  the 
Louisiana  country,  and  in  1727  wives  were  sent  out  to 


THE  PURCHASE   OF  LOUISIANA.  230 

the  settlers  on  the  plan  adopted  by  the  English  for 
peopling  Virginia  a  hundred  years  earlier.  In  1762, 
after  the  English  had  taken  Canada,  France  ceded 
Louisiana  to  Spain.  For  a  long  time  the  principal  in- 
dustry was  the  raising  of  indigo,  but  in  1794  the  cult- 
ure of  sugar  was  introduced,  and  the  colony  was  at  once 
rendered  prosperous. 

As   the   mouths   of   the    Mississippi  were  entirely  in  The  French  offer 

to  sell  the  prov- 

Louisiana,  Spam  wished  to  deny  to  our  people  the  ince. 
right  to  navigate  the  river  freely.  The  Western  people 
were  a  warlike  race,  and  they  wished  to  make  short 
work  of  the  difficulty  by  seizing  New  Orleans  and  the 
lower  Mississippi.  Our  government  sought  to  make 
a  more  prudent  settlement  by  buying  enough  of  Lou- 
isiana to  give  us  a  way  to  the  sea.  But  in  the  year  . 
1800  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  who  was  fast  getting  control 
of  Europe,  procured  the  cession  of  Louisiana  back  to 
France.  He  entertained,  along  with  the  other  dazzling 
schemes  that  filled  his  brain,  the  project  of  rebuilding 
the  French  power  in  America.  James  Monroe  and 
Robert  R.  Livingston  were  commissioned  by  President 
Jefferson  to  buy  from  France,  if  possible,  the  portion 
of  Louisiana  needed  to  secure  to  the  United  States  a 
free  navigation  to  the  sea,  including  the  city  of  New 
Orleans.  But  Napoleon  had  begun  to  see  that  Eng- 
land, all-powerful  at  sea,  would  wrest  Louisiana  from 
his  grasp.  He  therefore  surprised  the  American  com- 
missioners by  offering  to  sell  to  the  United  States  the 
whole  territory.  The  commissioners  had  no  instruc- 
tions to  make  so  large  a  purchase,  but  there  was  no 
time  to  communicate  with  America;  the  opportunity  to 
more  than  double  the  territory  of  their  country  was  a 


240 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Territory  in- 
cluded in  the 
Louisiana 
purchase. 


Discontent  in 
the  Southwest. 


dazzling  one,  and  they  concluded  a  treaty  of  purchase, 
by  which  the  United  States  was  to  pay  fifteen  million 
dollars.  When  the  treaty  was  concluded,  the  negotiators 
all  rose,  and  Livingston  said :  "  We  have  lived  long,  and 
this  is  the  fairest  work  of  our  lives.  The  treaty  we 
have  just  signed  will  transform  a 
vast  wilderness  into  a  flourishing 
country.  From  this  day  the  United 
States  becomes  a  first-class  power. 
The  articles  we  have  signed  will 
produce  no  tears,  but  ages  of  hap- 
piness for  countless  human  beings." 
By  this  purchase  the  country  ac- 
quired more  territory  than  all  she 
had  before  possessed,  and  there 
was  opened  to  her  the  prospect 
of  becoming  one  of  the  greatest 
nations  on  the  earth. 

French    Louisiana    included    in 

whole  or  in  part  the  States  of  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Mis- 
souri, Iowa,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Colorado, 
and  the  Territories  of  Dakota,  Montana,  Wyoming,  and 
the  Indian  Territory — that  is  to  say,  there  are  at  present 
twelve  very  large  States  and  Territories  almost  wholly 
made  from  Louisiana  as  bought  from  France  in  1803. 

Before  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  there  had  been 
some  dissatisfaction  in  the  Western  country,  and  a 
few  restless  characters  had  labored  to  further  a  project 
for  separating  the  interior  country  from  the  Eastern 
States,  which  seemed  remote  in  that  day  of  slow 
and  tedious  traffic  by  horse-paths  through  the  mount- 
ains. After  the  annexation,  the  French  inhabitants 


THE    TREASON   OF  AARON  BURR. 


241 


of  New  Orleans, 
and  the  region 
about  it,  were 
not  well  pleased 
that  they  had 
been  transferred 
to  the  United 
States  without 
their  own  con- 
sent. Spain  at 
that  time  held 
Texas,  and  was  in 
a  state  of  semi- 
hostility  to  the 

United  States.  The  people  of  the  Southwest,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  not  averse  to  war  with  Spain.  These 
various  causes  of  discontent  and  disturbance  offered  a 
field  for  an  ambitious  and  intriguing  man.  Such  a  man 
was  Aaron  Burr. 

After  Burr  had  allowed  himself  to  be  used  against  his  Downfall  of 

Aaron  Burr. 

own  party  in  1800,  endeavoring  to  snatch  the  presi- 
dency from  Jefferson  whom  he  had  supported,  the 
Republicans  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him. 
The  Federalists,  hoping  to  succeed  by  the  aid  of 
Burr's  friends,  nominated  him  for  Governor  of  New 
York.  But  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  great  leader 
of  the  Federalists,  would  not  support  a  man  so 
mischievous  as  Burr,  and  he  procured  his  defeat. 
Burr,  in  revenge,  fought  a  duel  with  Hamilton 
and  killed  him.  This  made  Burr  more  than 
ever  detested,  and  he  now  embarked  in  a  dark 
scheme  to  seize  territory  from  the  Spaniards  in  Mex- 
17 


242 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


ico,  and  probably  to  detach  Louisiana  and  perhaps  all 
of  the  Western  States  from  the  United  States,  and  so 
to  play  the  small  Napoleon  on  the  American  conti- 
nent. He  enlisted  soldiers  and  procured  arms,  and 
started  flat-boats  loaded  with  these  down  the  Ohio  and 
the  Mississippi.  But  his  plot  was  discovered  and  he 
was  tried  for  treason,  but  he  could  not  be  convicted 
for  want  of  sufficient  evidence.  He  spent  most  of  his 
remaining  years  in  poverty  and  popular  neglect,  and 
died  at  an  advanced  age. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 

BEGINNING   OF  THE   SECOND   WAR   WITH   ENGLAND. 

The  war  between         DURING  Jefferson's  administration  the  English  gfovern- 

England  and 

France.  ment  was  involved  in  a  long  war  with  Napoleon,  who  had 

made  himself  Emperor  of  the  French,  and  had  conquered 
a  great  part  of  western  Europe.  He  was,  perhaps,  the 
greatest  military  genius  of  modern  times,  and  it  seemed 
that  nothing  could  withstand  his  armies.  But  Great 
Britain,  being  an  island,  was  protected  by  the  interven- 
ing channel  from  the  advance  of  Napoleon's  troops. 
England,  moreover,  remained  in  possession  of  the  sea  as 
the  greatest  maritime  power  in  the  world. 

impressment  of  English  naval  officers  were  allowed  to  impress  seamen 

from  British  merchant  ships — that  is,  to  force  them  to 
serve  in  ships  of  war — and  in  this  struggle  with  Napo- 
leon they  found  themselves  in  great  need  of  seamen.  But 
England  had  also  long  claimed  the  right  to  impress  her 


seamen. 


THE   SECOND    WAR    WITH  ENGLAND.  243 

own  subjects  when  found  on  ships  of  other  nations. 
Many  English  sailors  sought  employment  in  American 
ships,  and  every  man  born  in  Great  Britain  who  sailed 
before  the  mast  in  an  American  vessel  was  liable  to  be 
seized  by  an  English  man-of-war.  As  English  naval  offi- 
cers were  allowed  to  judge  whether  a  man  was  a  native 
of  their  country  or  not,  thousands  of  natives  of  America 
were  impressed  on  British  ships.  It  was  very  exasperat- 
ing to  Americans  to  have  their  ships  stopped  on  the 
high-seas  and  searched,  and  their  citizens  forced  to  serve 
in  the  navy  of  a  foreign  power.  American  seamen  hated 
this  impressment  system ;  and  one  poor  fellow,  when  or- 
dered to  get  his  clothes  and  come  on  board  an  English 
man-of-war,  went  below  and  chopped  off  his  left  hand, 
and  came  on  deck  with  the  bleeding  stump,  on  which  the 
officer  left  without  him.  But  England  was  all-powerful 
on  the  sea,  and  the  United  States  had  to  bear  with  such 
insults  or  give  up  sailing  ships. 

During  this  war  between  England  and  France,  which  interference  with 
shook  the  whole  civilized  world,  our  country  tried  to  be 
neutral.  But  England  wished  to  interrupt  our  trade  with 
the  countries  under  control  of  France,  while  Bonaparte 
issued  orders  to  check  our  trade  with  England.  The 
successive  decrees  which  these  two  powers  issued,  one 
after  another,  became  so  severe  at  last  that  our  ships 
could  not  sail  to  any  port  without  the  greatest  danger  of 
being  seized  by  the  cruisers  of  one  or  the  other  nation. 
As  the  English  were  much  stronger  at  sea  than  the 
French,  they  did  us  the  more  harm. 

If  our  country  had  been  strong,  it  would  not  have  The  embargo  of 
borne  these  outrages  so  long  ;  but  it  was  then  but  a  small 
nation,  and  far  from  being  prepared  for  a  war  with  Eng- 


244 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


GEORGE    CLINTON. 


Election  of 
Madison,  1808. 


land.  President  Jefferson  was  very  anxious  to  avoid  war, 
and  to  go  on  paying  off  the  debt  of  the  country,  which 
was  his  leading  purpose.  The  President  thought  that 
the  United  States  might  get  the  offensive  decrees  re- 
pealed by  stopping  all  its  trade  with  the  outside  world. 
An  act  was  therefore  passed  in  December,  1807,  forbid- 
ding the  departure  of  vessels  from  American  ports.  This 
was  known  as  "The  Embargo  of  1807,"  or  "Jefferson's 
Embargo."  The  embargo  was  the  only  very  unfortunate 
act  of  Jefferson's  administration,  which,  up  to  this  time, 
had  been  most  popular.  It  was  like  destroying  our  own 
commerce  to  keep  others  from  ruining  it.  While  our 
ships  rotted  in  port,  English  ships  got  the  trade  with 
other  nations  which  we  had  lost.  New  England  and  New 
York  suffered  heavily  by  the  destruction  of  their  com- 
merce, and  were  therefore  very  much  opposed  to  the 
embargo.  Some  hot-headed  people  in  the  Eastern  States 
talked  of  dissolving  the  Union,  to  get  rid  of  the  embargo, 
which  would  have  been  much  like  cutting  off  one's  head 
to  cure  a  toothache.  The  embargo  was  called  a  "  terra- 
pin policy,"  as  though  the  country  had  pulled  its  head 
and  feet  into  its  shell,  as  a  terrapin  does  when  frightened. 
This  embargo  lasted  about  fourteen  months,  until  the 
law  was  repealed  in  1809. 

In   1808,  James  Madison,  of  Virginia,  was  elected  to 
succeed  Jefferson.      He  was  the  candidate  of  the  Re- 
publican,   or    Democratic,    party,    for,    notwithstand- 
ing the  unpopularity  of   the  embargo,  the  Federal- 
ist party  was  now  so  much  in  the  minority  that  it 
carried    but   a   little  over  one   fourth   of  the  electoral 
vote.     George  Clinton,  of  New  York,  was  elected  Vice- 
President. 


THE   SECOND    WAR    WITH  ENGLAND.  245 

In  1811  the  irritation  of  the  American  people  against  Tecumseh  and 
England  was  increased  by  the  outbreak  of  an  Indian  war 
in  the  Northwest.  It  was  believed  that  English  agents 
furnished  arms  to  the  Indians,  and  encouraged  their 
hostility  to  the  settlers.  The  Indians  were  at  this 
time  under  the  control  of  the  great  Shawnee  chief 
Tecumseh  and  his  brother,  who  was  called  "  the 
Prophet,"  and  who  pretended  to  speak  by  inspira- 
tion. These  brothers  were  two  of  three  chil- 
dren born  at  the  same  time.  They  were  of 
the  Shawnee  tribe.  Tecumseh  was  a  war- 
rior, while  his  brother  wrought  upon  the  su- 
perstitions of  the  Indians  by  falling  into  trances 
and  pretending  to  be  a  prophet.  He  carried  about 
a  string  of  sacred  beans  and  other  objects  of  reverence. 
He  and  Tecumseh  deserted  their  own  tribe  and  settled 
on  the  Wabash,  where  the  fame  of  the  Prophet's  visions 
and  other  hugger-muggering  drew  multitudes  of  Indians 
from  various  tribes  to  them.  When  any  chief  or  other 
influential  man  opposed  the  schemes  of  the  brothers,  the 
Prophet  had  influence  enough  to  have  him  put  to  death 
for  witchcraft. 

Tecumseh  took  the  extreme  ground  that  the  whole  Tecumseh-s  con- 
country  belonged  to  all  the  tribes  in  common,  and  that 
the  tribes  who  had  sold  their  lands  to  the  white  men  had 
done  what  they  had  no  right  to  do.  He  wished  to  force 
the  government  to  give  up  all  lands  north  of  the  Ohio. 
He  traveled  from  tribe  to  tribe,  trying  to  form  a  con- 
federacy of  all  the  Indian  nations.  Those  gathered  about 
him  were  from  several  different  tribes ;  he  really  formed 
a  new  tribe  of  Indians,  whom  he  gathered  from  one  band 
and  another  into  his  personal  following. 


246 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Battle 
canoe. 


ofTippe-         ln  October,   1811,  General  Harrison,  then  Governor 
of  Indiana  Territory,  marched  with  nine  hundred  men 
against  Tecumseh's  tribe  at  Tippecanoe.     On 
the   6th    of    November,    Harrison    arrived    at 
the    Prophet's   town.     Here    he   was   met   by 
a  deputation  of  three  Indians  with  a  peaceful 
message.     The   general,   therefore,   encamped 
for  the  night,  the  men  sleeping  on  their  arms. 
Tecumseh  was  absent  from  the  town,  and  the 
Prophet  had  no   one  to   hold  him    in  check. 
About   an   hour   before  daylight  the  savages 
attacked  Harrison's  camp.     The  frontiersmen 
who    formed     Harrison's    force    were    asleep 
when  firing  began,  but  they  soon  rallied,  put 
out  their  fires,  so  that  the  Indians  should  not  see  them, 
and   then   fought   bravely  in  the    dark.     Harrison   rode 
from  one  part  of  the  line  to  another  with  great  steadi- 
ness, though   his  hat-brim   was  perforated  and   his  hair 
grazed  by  a  bullet.      The  Prophet   kept  at  a  safe   dis- 
tance on  a  neighboring  hill,  where  he  chanted  a  war- 
song    in   a   loud   voice.      Animated    by  their  fanaticism 
and  the  song  of  their  Prophet,  the  savages  came 
out  from  cover  and  fought  with  a  daring  unusual 
in  their  battles.     But,  shortly  after  daylight,  the 
troops  made  a  final  charge,  which  drove  the 
Indians   from   the   field.      The   loss   on   both 
sides  was   heavy.     Tecumseh  returned  from 
the  South  a  little  while  after,  to  find  his  town 
in  ruins  and  his  confederacy  destroyed. 

In  June,  1812,  the  United  States  declared 
war  against  England.     Preparations  were  im- 
mediately made  for  invading  Canada;  but  the 


"THE    PROPHET." 


THE   SECOND    WAR    WITH  ENGLAND. 


247 


Americans  had   rushed  into  war  without   being   ready,  Declaration  of 

and  they  met  nothing  but  disaster  at  first.      The  Cana-  u^h'suc^esses" 

dian   authorities,  on   the   other   hand,   had   taken  every 

precaution  against  invasion.     The  first  blow  was  struck 

by  them  in  the  far-off  wilderness.      Fort  Mackinaw,  on 

an   island   in   the    straits    between    Lake    Michigan    and 

Lake   Huron,  was  captured  by  a  force  of  English  and 

Indians  before  the  American  commander  there  had  heard 

of   the  declaration  of  war.     This  removed  all  restraint 

from  the  already  hostile  savages  of  the  upper  country, 

and  gave  to  the  English  the  support  of  all  the  Indian 

tribes  of  the  interior. 

There  was  a  little  gar- 
rison in  Fort  Dearborn, 
where  the  city  of  Chicago 
now  stands.  When  Macki- 
naw had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  English,  this 
garrison  was  ordered  to 
evacuate  the  fort;  but,  as 
they  marched  out,  they 
were  attacked  by  Indians,  and,  after  a  desperate  strug- 
gle, they  were  nearly  all  killed. 

An  old  Revolutionary  officer,  General  Hull,  had  been  surrender  of 
sent  to  invade  Canada  by  way  of  Detroit.  But  Hull  was 
unfitted  by  age  to  command.  The  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington had  managed  badly  in  not  supplying  and  support- 
ing him  as  they  should,  and  he  had  not  the  vigor  to  over- 
come the  difficulties  by  which  he  was  beset.  He  sur- 
rendered Detroit,  against  the  judgment  of  his  officers, 
to  the  great  grief  of  the  army  and  the  bitter  disappoint- 
ment of  the  countrv. 


248  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Meantime  the  little  garrison  at  Fort  Wayne,  and  the 
eighteen  men  under  Zachary  Taylor  in  Fort  Harrison, 
successfully  endured  with  splendid  fortitude  sieges  from 
hordes  of  Indians,  who  tried  every  means  their  ingenuity 
could  devise  to  cut  off  these  two  places,  both  of  which 
were  at  length  relieved.  Tecumseh  had  been  "made  a 
brigadier-general  in  the  British  army,  and  his  popularity 
had  drawn  a  powerful  band  of  Indian  warriors  to  his 
standard.  At  the  surrender  of  Detroit  the  British  gen- 
eral, Brock,  put  his  own  scarf  on  Tecumseh  as  a  mark  of 
distinction,  which  highly  pleased  the  chief.  But  he  was 
too  wily  to  wear  it ;  he  put  the  scarf  on  Round  Head, 
a  warrior  of  the  Wyandots,  older  than  himself. 


MADISON'S    HOME    AT    MONTPELIER. 

CHAPTER   XLII. 

THE    NAVY    IN    THE    WAR    OF     l8l2. 

JAMES  MADISON,  the  President  elected  in  1808,  was 
re-elected  in  1812.  Madison  was  born  in  Virginia  in 
1751.  In  youth  he  was  an  industrious  student,  and  was 
in  some  regards  the  best  provided  with  knowledge  of  all 
the  American  statesmen  of  his  time.  He  was  honest  and 


/•///•:  NA  VY  IN    THE    WAR   OF  1812. 


249 


faithful  to  the  last  degree.  During  the  Revolution  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  and  later  a 
member  of  Congress.  He  was  one  of  the  first  promoters 
of  the  convention  that  framed  the 
Constitution,  of  which  he  became  a 
leading  member,  and  he  did  much  to 
secure  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 
tion by  the  several  States.  He  was 
one  of  the  earliest  advocates  of  entire 
religious  liberty.  Madison  held  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  State  in  Jeffer- 
son's administration.  As  a  member 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention  and 
of  Congress,  he  proved  himself  one  of 
the  foremost  statesmen  of  the  coun- 
try, and  he  had  much  influence  in 
giving  shape  to  the  government;  but  Madison  was  less 
fitted  for  the  presidency  than  for  the  floor  of  Congress. 
He  was  lacking  in  military  qualities,  and  he  was  forced 
into  the  war  by  the  opinion  of  the  country  and  against 
his  own  judgment,  so  that  the  President  was  from  the 
start  but  a  half-hearted  leader.  Madison  retired  in  1817, 
at  the  end  of  his  second  term,  and  he  died  in  1836,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-five. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  generals  selected  to 
command  were  mostly  Revolutionary  officers,  too  old  to 
be  good  commanders.  The  soldiers  were  high-spirited, 
but  undisciplined.  They  sometimes  refused  to  obey  a 
disagreeable  order,  or  to  follow  an  unpopular  command- 
er ;  sometimes  they  turned  about  and  went  home.  They 
even  threatened  the  life  of  a  general  whom  they  thought 
guilty  of  cowardice. 


Character 
soldiers  in 


of  the 
1812. 


250 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


war. 


Attempt  to  in-  The  main  purpose  of  the  government  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  had  been  to  invade  Canada.  But  the  old 
General  Dearborn,  who  had  command  of  the  army  on 
the  Canadian  frontier,  was  inefficient.  The  troops  were 
brave,  and  some  of  the  officers  distinguished  themselves 
in  various  battles,  but  the  conquest  of  Canada  proved  a 
difficult  task.  General  Hull,  as  we  have  seen,  contrived 
to  lose  Detroit  and  the  whole  Northwest. 

Neglect  of  the  Xhe   Republican  party  of   that  day,   which   was   the 

ginning  of  the  party  advocating  the  war,  had  always  professed  a  dis- 
like for  a  navy.  In  preparing  for  war,  the  whole  reli- 
ance had  been  upon  the  army,  and  the  little  navy  had 
been  neglected.  The  success  of  our  soldiers  was  not 
doubted,  but  it  seemed  folly  for  a  few  ships  to  encount- 
er the  navy  of  Great  Britain,  which  was  then  com- 
pletely "  mistress  of  the  seas."  It  was  generally  believed 
the  world  over  that  no  seamen  could  hold  their  own 
against  the  British,  and  it  had  become  a  proverb  that, 
when  the  French  launched  a  man-of-war,  it  was  only 
another  ship  for  the  English  to  capture.  Our  govern- 
ment was  so  much  convinced  of  English  superiority  that 
it  even  tried  to  keep  its  strongest  ships  in  harbor  to  save 
them  from  the  enemy,  and  they  were  only  allowed  to 
sail  on  the  indignant  protest  of  the  naval  officers — the 
only  persons  in  the  world  who  had  any  faith  in  the 
American  navy.  When  our  men-of-war  put  to  sea,  it 
was  said  that  they  would  soon  be  captured,  and  the 
government  relieved  of  the  expense  of  maintaining  them. 
Yet  in  the  first  year  of  the  war  the  failures  of  the  army 
under  weak  officers  were  most  disheartening,  and  the 
country  was  only  saved  from  complete  discouragement 
by  the  bold  triumphs  of  the  daring  little  navy. 


THE  NAVY  IN   THE    WAR   OF  1812. 


251 


The  first  inspiriting  success  of  the  navy  was  merely  The  frigate  con- 

,  .    .  ,-p,.          ,    .  ._,  .  stitution. 

a  success  of  seamanship.  1  he  frigate  Constitution  was 
chased  by  a  squadron  of  British  ships  in  wind  so  light 
that  both  parties  were  forced  at  times  to  tow  their  ships 
by  sending  boats  ahead,  or  to  pull  them  forward  by  drop- 
ping kedge-anchors.  The  English  put  most  of  their  boats 
to  towing  one  frigate,  in  order  to  overhaul  and  cripple 
the  Constitution,  so  that  the  rest  might  capture  her.  It 


CONSTITUTION    AND   GUERRIERE. 

was  only  by  superior  management  of  all  the  devices 
known  for  getting  ahead  at  sea  that  the  seamen  on  the 
Constitution  contrived,  after  three  days  and  nights  of 
almost  unresting  toil,  to  lose  sight  of  their  pursuers,  who 
had  been  more  than  once  within  long  cannon-shot. 

But   the   Constitution   did    not   content   herself  with  constitution 

and  Guerriere. 

saving  her  timbers  from  a  superior  force.  In  August, 
1812,  Captain  Isaac  Hull,  on  board  that  vessel,  encount- 
ered the  frigate  Guerriere,  one  of  the  vessels  that  had 


252 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


BRITISH    FLAG. 


lately  chased  the  Constitution.  There  ensued  one 
of  those  desperate  naval  duels  of  a  sort  which 
can  never  take  place  again,  perhaps,  since  wooden 
men-of-war  propelled  only  by  sails  have  fallen  into 
disuse.  In  one  hour  and  ten  minutes  the  Guer- 
riere  was  disabled  and  captured.  The  effect  of 
this  success  in  America  was  as  tremendous  as  it 
was  unexpected.  When,  soon  after,  the  sloop-of- 
war  Wasp  beat  the  English  sloop  Frolic,  the  pub- 
lic joy  knew  no  bounds ;  for,  though  the  damage 
our  little  navy  could  do  was  small,  it  had  at  last  proved 
that  the  English  were  not  invincible  at  sea.  One  of  the 
most  notable  captures  was  that  of  the  Macedonian  by  the 
frigate  United  States,  under  command  of  Stephen  De- 
catur,  the  same  who,  as  a  young  man,  had  captured  and 
set  fire  to  the  Philadelphia  under  the 
batteries  of  Tripoli.  The  news  of  De- 
catur's  victory  over  the  Macedonian 
brought  a  new  accession  of  joy  to  the 
country.  A  young  officer,  who  bore 
the  official  report  of  the  victory  to  the 
capital,  entered  a  large  public  assem- 
bly, escorted  by  two  other  officers, 
and  presented  the  ensign  of  the  Mace- 
donian to  Mrs.  Madison,  the  wife  of 

the  President.     The  assembled  guests  cheered  and 
wept 'with    enthusiasm,    while   the    young   offi- 
cer's   mother   and    sister,   who   were   pres- 
ent, embraced  him,  delighted  that  he  had 
come  safely  out  of   the  battle.      The  year 
was   closed    by  the   capture  of   a   fourth 
man-of-war,   the   frigate   Java.      This  was 


THE  NAVY  IN    THE    WAR   OF  1812. 


253 


effected  by  the  Constitution,  which  had  now  become 
famous  under  the  nickname  of  "Old  Ironsides."  This 
ship  had  the  fortune  to  win  brilliant  victories  under 
three  different  commanders. 

There  were  other  victories  than  these  we  have  men-  courage  of 
tioned,  and  some  defeats,  but  the  prowess  of  American  men  in  battle, 
seamen  excited   admiration  everywhere.     It  was  a  war 
for  sailors'  rights,  and  the  sailors  were  deeply  interested 
in  it.     The  adventurous  character  of  American  life  in  that 
day  had  developed  a  spirit  of  personal  daring  well  suited 
to  naval  warfare.     Such  was  the  emulation  of  officers  that 
in  boarding  an  enemy's  ship  they  actually  pulled  one  an- 
other back  in  some  instances,  so  eager  was  every  one  to 
get  over  the  side  of  the  hostile  vessel  first.    One  American 
seaman  on  the  Constitution,  in  her  battle  with  the  Java, 
remained  on  deck  in  a  dying  condition  until  the  enemy       SEAMAN,  1 
surrendered,  when  the  poor  fellow  raised  himself  with  one 
hand  and  gave  three  cheers,  and,  falling  back,  expired. 

There  were  many  affecting  examples  of  courage  in  Death  of 
these  contests.     In  the  losing   fight  of   the  Chesapeake 
with   the   Shannon,   when  Captain    Lawrence  was  car- 
ried  below  mortally  wounded,  he  said,  "  Don't  give 
up  the  ship ! "     These  words  became  a  battle-cry  in 
the  navy,  and  a  watchword  for  brave  men  in  diffi- 
cult circumstances  from  that  time  to  this. 

The  exploits  of   a  little  navy,   pitted    against 
the  greatest  maritime  power  the  world  had  ever 
seen,  set  the  people  wild.     When  the  command- 
ers of   successful  vessels   returned    to    port,  cities 
welcomed  them  with  banquets,  State  Legislatures  voted  Admiration  for 
them  swords,  and  the  General  Government  struck  med- 
als in  their  honor. 


254 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


The  Essex  in  the         The  Essex,  under  Captain  Porter,  took  the  bold  reso- 

Pacific 

lution  of  rounding  Cape  Horn  into  the  Pacific  to  protect 
American  whalers  from  English  cruisers.  This  was  the 
first  American  ship  of  war  in  those  waters,  and,  as  the 
authorities  in  South  America  were  unfriendly,  Captain 
Porter  was  obliged  to  depend  on  her  captures  for  sup- 
plies. Here  he  maintained  himself  for  more  than  a  year, 
taking  English  ships  and  recapturing  American  whalers 
that  had  been  taken,  until,  in  March,  1813,  the  remarkable 
career  of  the  Essex  was  closed  by  her  capture  by  two 
British  ships  in  the  offing  at  Valparaiso,  after  a  severe 
conflict, 
privateers  in  the  xne  skillful  seamanship  and  bold  handling  of  the 

•War  of  1812. 

American  ships  during  this  war  introduced  something 
like  a  new  sort  of  naval  warfare.  Unimportant  as  were 
these  naval  victories  in  proportion  to  the  power  of  the 
British  navy,  they  tended  more  than  any  other  event  of 
the  war  to  secure  for  our  seamen  equal  rights  on  the 
ocean.  Besides  men-of-war,  there  were  many  private 
vessels  fitted  out  under  authority  of  the  government  as 
privateers.  These  scoured  the  seas,  and  captured  or 
destroyed  above  sixteen  hundred  British  ships.  The 
seamen  on  them  fought  with  the  same  splendid  courage 
as  their  brethren  in  the  navy.  The  swiftest  of  these 
privateers  were  of  the  kind  known  as  "Baltimore  clip- 
pers." 


THE  ARMY  IN    THE    WAR   OF  1812.  255 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

THE    ARMY    IN    THE    WAR    OF     1 8 12. 

GENERAL  WINCHESTER,  also  a  veteran  of  the  Revolu-  Harrison  aP- 
tion,  was  appointed  to  succeed  General  Hull,  after  the  mand  the  North- 
latter  had  surrendered   Detroit.     But   the   Kentuckians,  western  army- 
who  formed  the  most  important  element  in  the  North- 
western army,  remembered  the  surrender  of  Detroit  by 
one  superannuated   officer,  and   they  did   not  wish   an- 
other.     With    that    independence    of    strict    discipline 
which   was  as  characteristic  of  them  as   their  courage, 
they  declared  their  unwillingness   to  serve   under  any- 
body but    Harrison,    whose   vigor    at   Tippecanoe    had 
won  him  the  favor  of  the  Western  country.     The  gov- 
ernment   could    not    do    otherwise    than    yield    to    the 
wishes  of  the  Kentuckians. 

Winchester  was  put  in  command  of  a  part  of  Har-  The  defeat  on  the 
rison's  army,  but  the  same  ill-luck  attended  him  that 
befell  the  other  Revolutionary  officers  who  were  brought 
forth  in  old  age  to  command  in  this  war.  Winchester 
was  defeated  on  the  river  Raisin,  in  Michigan,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1813.  He  surrendered  his  men  to  the  British  gen- 
eral, Proctor,  a  very  brutal  man,  who,  to  his  eternal 
infamy,  left  the  wounded  Americans  to  be  massacred 
and  plundered  by  the  Indians  of  his  army.  The  Ameri- 
cans were  roused  to  revenge,  and  the  war-cry  of  the 
enraged  Western  troops  became,  "  Remember  the  river 
Raisin ! " 

In  the  spring  of  1813,  General  Proctor,  with  a  great  siege  of  Fort 

Meigs  by  Proctor 

force  of  English  soldiers  and   Indians  under  Tecumseh,  and  xecumsen, 

1813. 


256 


HISTORY  OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 


Croghan's  gallant 
defense  of  Fort 
Stephenson,   1813. 


INFANTRY 
1812-1834. 


laid  siege  to  Harrison's  little  army  in 
Fort  Meigs.  When  Proctor,  whose 
force  was  much  stronger  than  Har- 
rison's, sent  a  demand  for  the  surren- 
der of  the  fort,  Harrison  answered, 
"Tell  General  Proctor  that,  if  he  shall 
take  the  fort,  it  will  be  under  circum- 
stances that  will  do  him  more  honor 
than  a  thousand  surrenders."  Harri- 
son and  his  troops  contrived  to  thwart 
every  endeavor  to  capture  the  fort 
until  re-enforcements  arrived,  when  the 
enemy  gave  up  the  siege  and  retired. 
In  the  summer  following,  Fort  Stephenson,  a  weak 
stockade  with  a  single  six-pound  gun,  was  brilliantly 
defended  by  a  young  Kentucky  officer  named  Croghan, 
with  only  a  hundred  and  sixty  men,  against  a  force 
many  times  as  strong,  commanded  by  General  Proctor. 
Harrison  ordered  Croghan,  who  was  but  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  to  abandon  the  fort.  But  Croghan,  like 
other  Kentuckians  of  the  time,  cared  more  for  courage 
than  for  subordination,  and,  knowing  the  fort  to  be  im- 
portant, he  resolved  to  hold  it.  The  English  tried  to 
persuade  him  to  surrender,  to  avoid  the  massacre  of  his 
garrison  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  to  which  the  answer 
was,  that  when  the  fort  should  be  given  up  there  would 
not  be  found  a  man  alive  in  it.  Croghan  shifted  his  six- 
pounder  from  one  angle  to  another,  to  give  the  impres- 
sion that  he  had  several  heavy  guns.  When  the  fort 
was  assaulted  at  its  weakest  part,  the  Kentucky  riflemen 
opened  a  deadly  fire.  But  the  brave  English  soldiers 
at  length  reached  the  ditch,  and  began  to  chop  down 


THE  ARMY  IN   THE    WAR   OF  1812. 


257 


the  stockade.  The  six-pounder,  which  had  been  double- 
loaded  with  grape-shot  and  slugs,  and  concealed  where 
it  covered  the  whole  ditch,  was  suddenly  fired.  Hardly 
a  man  of  the  assailing  party  escaped,  and  the  English 
army  retreated  the  next  morning.  During  the  night, 
Croghan's  men,  not  daring  to  open  the  gate,  let  down 
water  to  the  wounded  Englishmen  outside,  and  at  length, 
by  means  of  a  trench,  brought  them  in  and  cared  for  them. 

In  order  that  Harrison's  proposed  expedition  against 
Canada  might  succeed,  it  became  necessary  to  gain  con- 
trol of  Lake  Erie.  Both  sides  made  the  utmost  exer- 
tions in  building  ships  in  the  wilderness.  American 
mechanics  were  brought  from  Philadelphia  on 
sleighs.  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  an  officer  but  twen- 
ty-seven years  of  age,  had  charge  of  the  American 
preparations  from  the  beginning. 

A  little  fleet  was  launched  on  Lake  Erie  at 
length,  and  its  officers  and  men  were  anxious  to 
rival  the  glory  of  the  American  ships  at  sea.  In 
the  battle  of  Lake  Erie,  fought  on  the  I5th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1813,  Commodore  Perry  hung  up  for  his  signal 
"  Don't  give  up  the  ship ! "  the  dying  words  of  Law- 
rence. When  his  flag-ship  was  riddled  and  disabled  by 
the  enemy,  he  took  down  his  signal  and  got  into  a 
small  boat,  and  was  rowed  to  another  vessel,  standing 
upright  while  the  enemy 
was  raining  shot  about 
him.  Reaching  the  ship 
Niagara,  he  sailed  down 
on  the  British  line  and 
broke  it,  and  at  length 
compelled  the  whole  fleet 

18 


Battle  of  Lake 
Erie,  1813. 


258 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


Harrison's  ad- 
vance. 


Battle  of  the 
Thames. 


Death  of 
Tecumseh. 


to  surrender.  "  We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are 
ours — two  ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner,  and  one 
sloop,"  Perry  wrote  to  General  Harrison  at  the  close 
of  the  battle.  One  of  the  most  effective  devices  used 
by  Perry  in  this  action  was  the  firing  of  bits  of  scrap- 
iron  sewed  up  in  leathern  bags.  By  this  means  he  was 
able  to  tear  the  enemy's  sails  to  pieces,  and  leave  his 
ships  helpless. 

Perry's  victory  opened  the  way  for  a  forward  move- 
ment by  Harrison's  army.  In  Harrison's  general  orders, 
when  he  set  out  for  Canada  after  Perry's  victory,  he 
said :  "  Kentuckians,  remember  the  river  Raisin !  but  re- 
member it  only  while  victory  is  suspended.  The  re- 
venge of  a  soldier  can  not  be  gratified  upon  a  fallen 
enemy." 

Harrison  retook  Detroit,  crossed  into  Canada,  and 
pursued  Proctor's  army,  which  he  overtook  at  length 
on  the  river  Thames.  The  two  forces  were  about  equal, 
but  Proctor  formed  his  army  in  open  order,  as  is  usual 
in  fighting  against  Indians.  Harrison  took  advantage 
of  the  weakness  of  the  British  line,  and  ordered  his  cav- 
alry to  break  through  the  center  and  get  in  the  rear. 
This  was  done  at  a  dash,  and  the  English  army  was  soon 
utterly  routed.  Proctor,  afraid  of  falling  into  the  hands 
of  soldiers  who  remembered  the  river  Raisin,  saved  him- 
self by  fleeing  in  a  carriage,  and  then  by  leaving  his  car- 
riage and  taking  to  the  woods. 

The  brave  Tecumseh  was  killed  in  resisting  the  first 
charge  of  the  cavalry.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest  men 
produced  by  the  Indian  race,  and  it  is  to  his  credit  that 
he  never  countenanced  the  barbarous  custom  of  tortur- 
ing prisoners.  The  battle  of  the  Thames,  and  the  death 


THE  ARMY  IN   THE    WAR   OF  1812. 


259 


L  A  K  K     O  X 


FRENCH    CANACMAM 
WOMAN. 


of  the  warlike  Tecumseh,  broke  up  the  confederacy  of 
the  Indian  tribes,  and  brought  peace  to  the  frontier. 

Though  Harrison  and  his  Westerners  succeeded  so 
well  in  invading  the  sparsely  settled  Upper  Canada,  the 
attempted  invasion  of  Canada  to  the  eastward  was  no 
easy  task,  and  it  proved  a  failure  under  the  lead  of  the 
feeble  old  generals  who  had  survived  from  the  Revolu- 
tion. But  the  rise  of  young  gen- 
erals— Brown,  Scott,  and  Ripley 
— to  command  changed  the  as- 
pect of  affairs,  and  an  invasion  of 
Canadian  territory  was  made  in  Attempts  to  con- 

..  „,  _    .       quer  Canada  not 

the  summer  of  1814.      Fort  Erie  successful.   Bat- 
was  taken,  and  the  battle  of  Erie  \^°e  ^"n  y 
fought  and   won   by   the    Ameri- 
cans  early   in   July.     The    battle 
of  Lundy's  Lane  was  stubbornly 
contested,    and    lasted    till    mid- 
night.    The   Americans  were   left   in   possession   of  the 
field,  but  the  next  day  they  retreated.     Be- 
fore winter   set   in,  the   Americans  retired 
to   their  own    side   of   the    Niagara  River. 
In     March,    1814,     Napoleon    was    con- 
quered and  banished  to  the  island  of  Elba. 
England,  having  now  peace  in  Europe,  was 
free  to  send  re-enforcements  to  Canada,  and 
in  this  same  summer  of   1814  the    English 
entered  the  United  States,  by  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  the  way  so  often  traveled  by  French 
and  English  expeditions  in  the  old   French 
wars  and  in  the  Revolution.      Sir  George 
Prevost,  the  British  commander,  had  made 


260 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


MACDONOUGH. 


English  attempt  his  preparations  carefully,  and  on  the  nth  of  Septem- 
united  states,  ber,  1  8  14,  a  sharp  engagement  between  the  advanc- 
ing English  army  and  American  troops  took  place  at 
Plattsburg,  on  Lake  Champlain,  while  the  little  squad- 
ron of  British  and  American  craft  were  fighting  on 
the  water. 

The  result  of  the  naval  battle  decided  the  fate  of  that 
fought  on  land.  The  English  vessels  were  superior  in 
men  and  guns  to  the  Americans,  but  the  fate  of  the 
doubtful  conflict  was  won  by  the  skillful  management  of 
Commodore  Macdonough,  who  commanded  the  Ameri- 
can fleet.  The  English  squadron  was  at  length  com- 
pelled to  surrender  a  part  of  their  vessels  and  to  get  the 
rest  away  as  quickly  as  possible.  So  severe  was  the 
fight,  that  not  a  sound  mast  was  left  in  either  squad- 
ron —  the  masts  were  splinters  and  the  sails  were  rags. 
As  soon  as  the  English  general  learned  that  the  fleet 
had  been  beaten,  he  drew  off  his  men,  and  that  night 
made  a  precipitate  retreat  to  Canada. 

But  the  English  invasion,  by  way  of  Chesapeake  Bay, 

.  \  *  ' 

was  more  successful.  In  August,  1814,  the  British  landed 
in  Maryland  an  army  stronger  than 
any  that  could  be  brought  to  meet 
it.  On  the  24th  of  that  month  a  battle 
was  fought  at  Bladensburg,  which 
resulted  in  a  victory  for  the  English, 
who  entered  Washington,  and  burned 
the  Capitol  and  most  of  the  public 
buildings.  The  same  force  that  had 
taken  Washington  attacked  Baltimore 


Battle  of  Bia- 

Vnsburg  ;    fall  of 

Washington,  1814. 


by  land   and  water,  but   the  vigorous    defense   of    that 
place  forced  the  British  to  retire. 


THE  ARMY  IN    THE    WAR   OF  1812. 


26l 


It  was  during  this  attack  that  the  song  called  "The  The  song  of  "Th< 
Star-Spangled  Banner  "  was  written.  Francis  S.  Key,  the  BMUMT." 
author  of  the  song,  had  gone  to  the  British  squadron, 
with  the  consent  of  the  President,  to  secure  the  release  of 
a  friend  detained  as  a  prisoner.  Key  was  himself  detained 
during  the  attack  on  Baltimore ;  and  when  the  firing  had 
ceased,  uncertain  of  the  result,  he  waited  for  the  daylight, 
to  see  which  flag  floated  at  Fort  McHenry.  When  he 
saw  that  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were  still  there,  he  wrote 
the  verses  on  the  back  of  an  old  letter.  They  were  soon 
after  printed,  and,  as  they  suited  the  patriotic  feeling  of 
the  times,  they  were  soon  sung  all  over  the  country. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  in  the  history  of  the  flag  that  changes  in  the 

flag. 

the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner "  of  Key's  time  had  fifteen 
stripes  and  fifteen  stars.  The  old  flag  of  thirteen  stripes 
and  as  many  stars  had  been  changed  in  1795  to 
fifteen  of  each,  in  view  of  the  accession  of  Ver- 
mont and  Kentucky  to  the  Union.  But  in  1818 
the  rule  was  adopted  which  still  holds — the  stripes 
were  permanently  reduced  to  thirteen,  to  represent 
the  original  States,  and  the  stars  were  henceforth 
to  be  as  many  as  there  should  be  States  at  the  time.  BETWEEN  ms  AND  we. 

The  persuasions  of  Tecumseh  and  his  brother, 

the  Prophet,  had  raised  up  a  war  party  among  the  Creek  War  with  the 
Indians,  who  dwelt  mostly  in  southern  Alabama.  A 
large  part  of  the  nation,  under  the  lead  of  a  half-breed 
chief  named  Weathersford,  or  "  Red  Eagle,"  made  war 
on  their  white  neighbors  and  on  the  Indians  of  their 
own  tribe  who  were  disposed  to  be  friendly  to  the 
United  States.  British  agents  supplied  these  Indians 
with  arms.  Weathersford,  like  Tecumseh,  had  a  prophet 
to  help  him,  who  had  been  initiated  into  the  office  by 


262 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Jackson  seizes 
Pensacola. 


Tecumseh's  brother.  Weathersford  also  imitated  Te- 
cumseh  in  discouraging  the  barbarities  of  the  Indians, 
but  he  could  not  restrain  them,  and  cruel  outrages  of 
torture  and  massacre  took  place. 

overthrow  of  the  General  Andrew  Jackson,  then  an  officer  of  the  Ten- 
General  jackson.  nessee  militia,  led  a  force  into  southern  Alabama,  and, 
after  overcoming  the  greatest  difficulties  and  fighting 
many  bloody  battles,  he  broke  the  power  of  the  Creeks, 
so  that  Weathersford  himself  entered  Jackson's  tent  and 
surrendered.  This  was  in  April,  1814.  Jackson,  from 
being  a  commander  of  volunteers,  was  now  made  a 
major-general,  and  put  in  command  of  the  troops  in  the 
Southwest. 

Florida  was  at  this  time  in  possession  of  Spain, 
which  was  at  peace  with  the  United  States.  But  that 
power  was  secretly  in  sympathy  with  England,  and 
English  troops  made  Pensacola,  in  Florida,  a  base  of 
operations  against  Mobile.  With  his  usual  fiery  zeal, 
Jackson  marched  into  Spanish  territory,  captured  Pensa- 
cola, and  dislodged  the  British.  He  then  retired. 

Jackson  hastened   to   New  Orleans,  which  was  soon 
by   a   large    British  force.     With  an  energy 
unsurpassed  perhaps  in  modern  history,   he  formed  an 
army  out  of  the  men  and  material  within  his  reach,  and 

-_ , ,     ,  .,    .     , .  built     defenses     against 

the  British  approach. 
He  formed  companies 
of  free  colored  men, 
and  he  even  took  the 
convicts  out  of  prison  to 
make  soldiers  of  them. 
After  several  prelimina- 


Jackson's  victory 
at  New  Orleans, 

January  s,  1815.     threatened 


THE  ARMY  IN    THE    WAR   OF  iSi2. 


263 


ry  battles,  the  English  endeavored  to  carry  Jackson's 
works  by  storm  on  the  8th  of  January,  1815.  But  Jack- 
son's preparations  were  so  thorough,  that  the  enemy 
was  repulsed  with  a  frightful  loss  of  twenty-six  hun- 
dred men.  The  Americans  lost  but  eight  killed  and 
thirteen  wounded.  Sir  Edward  Pakenham,  the  British 
commander,  was  killed,  and  the  attack  on  New  Orleans 
was  abandoned. 

When  this  battle  was  fought,  peace  had  already  been 
made,  but  the  news  had  not  yet  reached  this  country.  ^TOR-GENERAL,  1*12. 
The  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Ghent,  in  Belgium,  on 
the  24th  of  December,  1814.     By  the  terms  of  this  treaty,  Peace  of  Ghent, 
neither  Great  Britain  nor  the  United  States  gained  any- 
thing.    The  right  of  searching  American  vessels  was  not 
mentioned  in  the  treaty ;  but  the  war  had  shown  Great 
Britain  that  the  right  to  search  could  no  longer  be  main- 
tained against  a  spirited  nation,  and  American  ships  have 
never  been  searched  from  that  time  to  this. 

The   war  had   caused  a  great  deal  of  suffering  and  suffering  caused 

.  by  the  war. 

misery  in  this  country,  by  the  derangement  of  business, 
the  destruction  of  property,  and  the  loss  of  life.  The 
news  of  the  peace  was  hailed  with  delight. 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 

EXPANSION    OF    THE    UNION. 

LET  us  now  so  back  to  the  period  immediately  fol-  Vermont  admit- 

'  ted  as  the  four- 

lowing  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  and  trace  the  teenth  state,  1791- 
birth  of  new  States.     The  boundaries  of  the  old  States 


264 


HISTORY  OF    J^HE    UNITED   STATES. 


had  been  fixed  by  royal  grants  and  by  decisions  made 
in  England.  But,  as  soon  as  the  Revolution  broke  out, 
English  control  was  at  an  end,  and  the  spread  of  the 
Revolutionary  spirit  began  to  break  down  the  authority 
of  some  of  the  States  in  parts  of  their  dominions. 

Vermont,  1791.  The  people  of  what  is  now  called  Vermont  had  set- 
tled on  their  lands  under  grants  made  by  the  Governor 
of  New  Hampshire,  supposing  themselves  to  be  in  that 
State.  From  this  fact  the  country  was  called  "  The  New 
Hampshire  Grants."  But,  as  New  York  set  up  a  claim 
to  all  lands  west  of  the  Connecticut  River,  and  as  the 
royal  governor  in  New  York  wished  to  get  rich  from 
the  fees  allowed  to  him  for  granting  lands,  a  claim  was 
set  up  that  the  country  west  of  the  Connecticut  and 
north  of  Massachusetts  belonged  to  New  York,  and  this 
was  upheld  by  the  authorities  in  England.  But  the  peo- 
ple of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  were  a  race  of  hardy 
pioneers.  They  refused  to  pay  for  their  lands  a  second 
time,  and  made  successful  opposition  to  the  officers  of 
New  York.  When  the  Revolution  broke  out,  the 
"  Green  Mountain  Boys "  set  up  as  an  independent 
State,  and  called  it  Vermont — a  name  derived  from  the 
French  for  "  Green  Mountain."  They  even  annexed  the 
adjacent  parts  of  New  York  and  New  Hampshire.  By 
1791  all  their  difficulties  with  other  States  were  settled, 
and  Vermont  was  admitted  to  the  Union  as  the  first 
addition  to  the  "Old  Thirteen." 

Kentucky,  1792.  Kentucky  was  a  part  of  Virginia,  but  the  continued 
Indian  wars  after  the  Revolution  made  it  of  great  impor- 
tance that  the  people  west  of  the  mountains  should  have 
a  State  government  nearer  than  that  at  Richmond.  After 
much  trouble  and  many  failures,  Kentucky  secured  a 


GENTLEMAN'S    RIDING- 
DRESS,    EARLY    PART   OF 
THE   CENTURY. 


EXPANSION  OF   THE    UNION. 


265 


separation  from  Virginia,  and  in  February,  1792,  the 
new  State  was  admitted  to  the  Union. 

The  people  of  this  country  have  generally  emigrated  Tennessee,  1796. 
in  pretty  straight  lines  to  the  westward.  As  Virginians 
broke  over  the  mountains  into  Kentucky,  so  North  Caro- 
linians crossed  into  the  valleys  of  Tennessee.  The  Ten- 
nessee settlers  also  had  trouble  with  the  parent  State, 
and  at  one  time  set  up  a  new  State  without  authority, 
giving  it  the  name  of  Franklin.  This  was  given  up,  and 
the  people  returned  to  their  allegiance  to  North  Caro-  HAIR  DRE88EO  UKE  A 

HELMET,  ABOUT    1806. 

lina  until  that  State  ceded  its  lands  west  of  the  mountains 
to  the  Union  after  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion. This  region,  with  other  Southern  territory,  was  set 
up  in  1790  as  a  territorial  government,  and  in  1796  was 
admitted  into  the  Union,  with  the  name  of  Tennessee. 

These  two  States,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  had  Ohio,  1803. 
slaves.  But  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  as  we  have  seen 
in  a  previous  chapter,  did  not  allow  slaveholding  in  the 
territory  north  of  the  Ohio  River ;  so  that  all  the  States 
formed  out  of  that  territory  were  free  States  from  the 
beginning.  In  the  two  years  following  the  passage  of 
this  ordinance,  twenty  thousand  people  made  their  way 
down  the  Ohio  River.  But  the  horrible  Indian  wars 
checked  the  settlement  of  the  country  until  after  Wayne's 
great  victory.  Ohio  was  admitted  to  the  Union  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1803.* 

It  was  more  than  nine  years  before  another  State  was  Louisian 
admitted.     In   1812  the  southern  part  of  the  great  terri- 
tory bought  from  France  was  admitted,  under  the  name 
of    Louisiana  —  the   name   at   first  given   to   the   whole. 


TURBAN    HEAD-DRESS, 

WORN    EARLY   IN    THIS 

CENTURY. 


*  This  is  the  correct  date,  according  to  late  investigations. 


266 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Rapid  expansion 
after  the  war. 
Indiana,  1816. 
Mississippi,  1817. 
Illinois,  1818. 
Alabama,  1819. 
Maine,  i8ao. 


OPERA    HEAD-DRESS, 
EARLY  IN  THE  CENTURY. 


Debate  over  the 
application  of 
Missouri. 


State  of  the 
slavery  question. 


Thus,  when  the  War  of  1812  began,  the  old  Union  of 
thirteen  States  had  increased  to  eighteen. 

The  second  war  with  England,  and  particularly  the 
naval  battles  and  the  crushing  defeat  which  Jackson  in- 
flicted on  the  British  troops  at  New  Orleans,  made  the 
United  States  respected  in  Europe  as  it  had  never  been 
before.  Emigrants  began  to  flock  to  America.  The 
peace  with  the  Indians  caused  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
then  called  "  the  Far  West,"  to  fill  up  rapidly.  In  more 
than  thirty  years  after  the  Revolution,  only  "five  States 
were  added  to  the  Union  ;  but  the  next  six  States  were 
admitted  in  six  successive  years — Indiana,  next  west  of 
Ohio,  in  1816.  The  defeat  of  the  Creeks  had  opened  the 
Southwest ;  and  the  new  State  of  Mississippi,  between 
Tennessee  and  Louisiana,  was  admitted  in  1817.  Illinois, 
west  of  Indiana,  was  admitted  in  1818;  and  Alabama 
filled  the  gap  between  Mississippi  and  Georgia  in  1819. 
In  1820  the  District  of  Maine,  long  attached  to  Massa- 
chusetts, though  separated  from  it  geographically,  was 
admitted  as  an  independent  State. 

By  1820,  therefore,  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, except  the  extreme  northern  portion,  now  included 
in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  had  been  made  into  States, 
and  the  State  of  Louisiana  had  been  made  out  of  the 
territory  which  had  been  bought  from  France.  But, 
by  this  time,  a  new  State  on  the  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River  was  knocking  at  the  door  of  the  Union. 
This  was  Missouri.  Over  the  admission  of  this  State 
there  was  a  great  debate,  lasting  through  three  sessions 
of  Congress. 

The  cause  of  this  debate,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
important  in  our  history,  was  the  fact  that  Missouri  pro- 


EXPANSION  OF   THE    UNION. 


267 


posed  to  come  in  as  a  slave  State.  The  bringing  of  slaves 
into  the  United  States  had  been  forbidden  in  1808.  The 
States  north  of  the  southern  line  of  Pennsylvania  had  all, 
before  1820,  taken  measures  to  free  their  slaves.  The 
States  south  of  the  southern  line  of  Pennsylvania,  having 
much  of  their  wealth  in  slaves,  and  cultivating  crops  that 
seemed  to  require  their  labor,  had  by  this  time  mostly 
given  up  the  thought  of  freeing  their  slaves.  So  that 
there  were  now  two  classes  of  States  in  the  Union :  free 
States  and  States  having  slaves.  Each  of  these  divisions 
of  the  Union  was  afraid  that  the  other  would  get  control 
of  the  country.  It  had  usually 
been  the  custom,  in  admitting 
new  States,  to  bring  in  one  from 
the  North  and  one  from  the 
South,  to  keep  the  balance  good. 


EVENING   DRESS 
JEFFERSON'S   TIM 


268 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


A  new  phase  of 
the  slavery  ques- 
tion. 


CHILD'S    DRESS    IN    THE 

EARLY    YEARS    OF   THE 

19TH    CENTURY. 


The  Missouri 
Compromise. 
Missouri  ad- 
mitted, 1821. 


WALKING-COSTUME, 
1807. 


Growth  of  popu- 
lation. 


But  Missouri  brought  up  a  new  question.  According 
to  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  the  States  north  of  the  Ohio 
had  all  come  in  as  free  States ;  but  those  to  the  south  of 
that  river  had  been  allowed  to  enter  as  slaveholding 
States.  The  French  province  of  Louisiana  had  been  pur- 
chased as  slaveholding  territory,  and  the  southernmost 
part  of  it  had  been  admitted  as  a  slave  State.  But  now 
the  question  arose  whether  all  the  great  region  bought 
from  France  was  to  be  added  to  the  Southern  side  of 
the  scale.  Missouri  was  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
so  far  north  as  to  seem  to  break  into  the  line  of  free 
States. 

Most  of  the  people  at  the  North  wished  all  the  new 
territory  made  into  free  States ;  most  of  the  people  at 
the  South  wished  to  have  it  all  open  to  settlement  by 
Southern  people  with  slaves.  The  question  was  finally 
decided  by  letting  Missouri  come  in  as  a  slave  State,  but 
slavery  was  at  the  same  time  forever  forbidden  in  the 
rest  of  the  territory  north  of  the  southern  line  of  Mis- 
souri. Thus  all  the  territory  to  the  north  and  west  of 
that  State  would  be  free.  This  was  known  as  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise.  It  was  adopted  in  1820,  and  Missouri 
was  finally  admitted  in  1821.  Henry  Clay,  the  most 
famous  of  the  orators  and  political  leaders  of  the  day, 
was  very  active  in  promoting  this  measure. 

The  "  Old  Thirteen  "  had  now  grown  to  twenty-four. 
The  expansion  of  the  nation  in  population  and  wealth 
was  very  rapid.  In  1820  there  were  more  than  nine 
and  a  half  million  people  in  America.  This  was  about 
three  times  as  many  as  there  were  when  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  was  ended. 


FROM  MONROE    TO   VAN  BUREN. 


269 


JAMES    MONROE. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

FROM     MONROE     TO    VAN     BUREN. — RISE     OF     WHIGS    AND 
DEMOCRATS. 

A  GREAT   part  of   the  expansion  of  the  Union   by 
the  admission  of  new  States,  described  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  took  place  in  the  presidency  of  James 
Monroe,  who  was  chosen  to  that  office  in  1816.     Mon- 
roe was  born  in  Virginia  in   1754.     As  soon  as  he 
had   graduated  at  William   and    Mary  College,  in 
1776,  he  joined  the  Revolutionary  army.     He  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  several  battles.     He  was  min- 
ister to  France  and  to  England,  and  was  Secretary 
of  State  when   Madison  was   President.     Monroe  was  a 

man  of  even  temper,  with  very  little  party  feeling,  and  Monroe's  presi- 
dency ;  the  era  of 

with  the  greatest  desire  to  be  just  and  to  act  wisely,  good  feeling. 
He  was  very  popular,  and  his  administration  was  called 
"the  era  of  good    feeling."     The    Fedeiial  party   being 
by  this  time  almost   extinct,   Monroe   was  re-elected  in 
1820  without  any  opposing  candidate. 

Next  to  the  Missouri  Compromise,  of  which  we  have  Purchase  of  Flor- 
ida from  Spain, 

spoken  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  most  remarkable  ,8ai.  • 
event  of  Monroe's  administration  was  the  purchase  of 
the  Peninsula  of  Florida  from  Spain.  French  Protest- 
ants had  made  a  settlement  in  Florida  in  1564,  but  they 
were  nearly  all  cruelly  put  to  death  by  Spaniards  in 
1565,  in  which  year  the  Spaniards  founded  St. 
Augustine,  the  oldest  town  in  the  present  United 
States.  In  the  Treaty  of  1763,  Spain  ceded  Flor- 
ida  to  England.  In  1783  it  was  ceded  back  to 

SPANISH    STANDARD. 


2jQ  HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

Spain.  Its  purchase  by  our  government  was  completed 
in  1821,  and  General  Jackson,  who  had  seized  part  of 
Florida  during  the  War  of  1812,  and  again  in  the  Semi- 
nole  War  of  1818,  having  both  times  to  relinquish  it, 
was  now  sent  to  receive  the  new  province  from  the 
Spanish  governor. 
Announcement  of  In  1823  the  countries  in  America  to  the  south  of  us, 

the  "  Monroe 

Doctrine,"  1823.  which  had  been  colonies  of  Spain,  were  striving  to  estab- 
lish themselves  as  independent  republics,  and  it  was 
feared  that  an  alliance  of  European  nations  would  help 
Spain  to  subdue  them.  President  Monroe,  therefore, 
sent  a  message  to  Congress,  in  which  he  announced 

what    has    always 
„    y  ~  since  been  known 

as  "  The  Monroe 
Doctrine."  This 
doctrine  was,  that 
the  United  States 
would  object  to 
any  attempt  on  the 
part  of  European 

MONROE'S    HOME    AT    MONTPELIER,   VA. 

powers  to  "  extend 

their  system  "  of  interference  to  "  any  part  of  this  hemi- 
sphere." This  was  a  declaration  of  independence  for 
the  whole  of  America.  The  United  States  still  main- 
tains the  principle  as  stated  by  Monroe. 

Retirement  of  Monroe,  who  went  out  of  office  in  1825,  was  the  last 

President  connected  with  the  Revolution.  After  leaving 
the  presidency,  he  was  very  poor.  He  died  in  New 
York  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1831.  He  was  the  third 
President  to  die  on  the  anniversary  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence. 


FROM  MONROE    TO    VAN  BUREN. 


JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS. 


For  want  of  any  issue  between 
them,  both  the  old  parties  may  be 
said  to  have  gone  to  pieces,  and  new 
ones  were  not  yet  formed.  There 
were  four  candidates  for  the  presi- 
dency in  1824:  Crawford,  Jackson, 
Adams,  and  Clay.  No  one  of  these 
got  a  majority  of  the  electoral  votes, 
and  the  duty  of  electing  a  president 
devolved  on  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, which  elected  Adams. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  the  sixth 
President,  was  the  son  of  John  Ad- 
ams, the  second  President.  He  was 

born  in  Braintree,  Mass.,  in  1767.  He  studied  in  France  sketch  of  j.  Q. 
and  Holland,  and  spent  some  time  in  Sweden,  Denmark, 
Russia,  and  England,  while  yet  a  boy.  He  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  when  he  was  twenty  years  old,  and 
studied  law.  He  was  at  various  times  American  min- 
ister at  the  courts  of  Holland,  England,  Prussia,  and 
Russia,  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  to  negotiate 
the  treaty  with  England  at  the  close  of  the  War  of 
1812.  He  was  Secretary  of  State  in  Monroe's  Cabinet, 

and  President  of 
the  United  States 
from  1825  to  1829. 

The  administra-  Admini3trati<m 

of  the  second 

tion  of  Adams  was  Adams. 
a  stormy   and   un- 
popular  one.      He 
was  extremely  hon- 
est    and     faithful, 


CE   OF   JOHN 


272 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Elect 
drew 


ion  of  An- 
Jackson  in 


but,  like  his  father,  John  Adams,  he  had  no  gift  for  win- 
ning friends.     He  could  not  bend  to  the  people  ;  his  cold 

manners  and  his  disregard  for  the 

opinions  of  others  made  him  ene- 
mies, who  succeeded  in  preventing 
his  re-election.  When  John  Quincy 
Adams  quitted  the  presidency  he 
did  not  leave  public  life,  but  sat  in 
the  lower  house  of  Congress  from 
1831  to  1848,  and  this  was  the  most 
brilliant  part  of  his  career.  At 
eighty  years  of  age  he  was  still 
called  "The  old  man  eloquent." 
He  died  in  the  Capitol  at  Wash- 
ington in  1848. 

In  1828  Andrew  Jackson,  of 
Tennessee,  was  chosen  President, 
taking  office  in  March,  1829.  He  was  re-elected  in  1832, 
and  held  office  in  all  for  eight  years.  Jackson  was  born 
in  North  Carolina  in  1767.  He  joined  the  Revolution- 
ary army  in  South  Carolina  when  he  was  but  fourteen 
years  old.  He  studied  law  and  settled  in  Nashville, 
Tennessee.  He  was  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Senate  and  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Tennessee 
before  he  became  distinguished  as  a  soldier.  His 
military  achievements  are  told  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter. He  was  President  of  the  United  States  from 
1829  to  1837.  As  the  first  President  that  had  risen 
from  the  ranks  of  the  common  people,  he  was 
very  popular,  and  was  supposed  to  represent  the 
American  ideas  of  the  time.  He  was  called  "  Old 
Hickory  "  by  his  admirers. 


DRESS   OF   A 
IN    JACKSON'S 


FROM  MONROE    TO   VAN  BUREN.  27T. 

Jackson  was   a   man   sincerely  patriotic  and   honest,  character  of 
but  self-willed  and  of  a  violent  temper.     He  was  the  first  isTrat^n8  ad 
President  who  turned  out  of  government  office  the  men 
who  were  opposed  to  him,  appointing  his  own  friends 
in  their  places.     He  vetoed  a  great  many  acts  of  Con- 
gress.     He     succeeded     in 
breaking  down  the   United 
States   Bank,   which,  up  to 
that  time,  had  kept  the  pub- 
lic moneys.     He  vetoed  al- 
most all  the  measures  pro- 
posed for  the  promotion  of 
roads    and    other   " internal 
improvements"  by  the  Gen- 

"    IMt    HtHMHAUt"     Uh     JAUKtiUN. 

eral     Government,    holding 

that  the  Federal  Government  had  no  right  to  tax  the 
people  for  such  enterprises.  Jackson  set  his  face  against 
the  doctrine  advanced  by  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South 
Carolina,  in  his  time,  that  a  State  could  "  nullify  "  a  law 
of  the  United  States.  The  business  of  the  government 
with  other  nations  was  conducted  during  Jackson's  ad- 
ministration with  great  spirit  and  ability,  and  the  country 
was  respected  abroad.  Jackson  died  in  1845. 

As  the  moderate  and  peaceful  administration  of  Mon-  Rise  of  the 
roe  helped  forward  the  dissolution  of  the  old  Federal  and  cratic  parties. 
Republican  parties,  so  the  administration  of  a  man  of 
strong  party  feeling  and  of  stormy  temper  like  Jackson 
made   new  party  divisions.     Jackson   loved    his   friends 
and   hated  all  opponents.     The  country  came  to  be  di- 
vided  into   Jackson   men   and    anti-Jackson    men.      The 
Jackson  men  claimed  to  succeed  to  the  old  Democratic- 
Republican  party,  and,  retaining  one  of  the  names  by 

19 


274 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


which  it  was  known,  they  were 
called  "  Democrats."  Those 
who  were  opposed  to  Jackson 
were  called  "  Whigs,"  a  name 
formerly  applied  in  England 
to  the  party  opposed  to  the 
arbitrary  power  of  the  king. 
The  principal  feature  of  Amer- 
ican politics  for  about  twenty 
years  was  the  rivalry  of  the 
Whig  and  Democratic  parties. 
The  main  differences  be- 
tween the  Whig  party  and  the 
Democratic  were : 

i.    That    the    Whigs    advo- 
Differences  be-       cated  the  re-establishment   of  the  United   States  Bank ; 

tweenthe  parties. 

the  Democrats  opposed  it. 

2.  The    Whigs   were    in    favor    of    the    building    of 
roads  and  canals   at  the  expense  of   the  United   States. 
The     Democrats 

did  not  believe 
that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the 
Union  should 
undertake  "  in- 
ternal improve- 
ments," as  roads 
and  canals  were 
then  called. 

3.  The  Whigs  generally  wished  to  increase  the  pow- 
er  of   the    Federal    Government ;    the    Democrats    were 
more    in    favor    of     what    were    called     States'    rights. 


HOME   OF   CALHOUN 


RISE    OF   WHIGS  AND   DEMOCRATS. 


275 


The  Democrats  thought  that,  whatever  power  the  Con- 
stitution did  not  expressly  give  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment, could  only  be  exercised 
by  the  States. 

The  great  leaders  of  the 
Whig  party  were  Henry  Clay, 
of  Kentucky,  and  Daniel  Web- 
ster, of  Massachusetts.  These 
were  two  of  the  greatest  ora- 
tors the  country  has  ever 
known.  Another  orator  ot 
the  first  rank,  John  C.  Cal- 
houn,  of  South  Carolina,  was 
on  the  Democratic  side.  He 
believed  in  the  power  of  a 
State  to  "  nullify "  a  law  of 
the  nation.  But  the  Demo- 
cratic party  generally  agreed 

with  Jackson,  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States  were  The  great  party 
supreme  until  the  courts  decided  them  unconstitutional.  Webster,  and 
Clay,    Calhoun,   and    Webster    are   often    spoken   of   to- 
gether.    They  were  the  three  great  statesmen  of  what 
is   sometimes   known    as   "  the    compromise    period "   of 

American  histo- 
ry. Henry  Clay 
was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia in  1777.  He 
was  a  poor  boy, 
and  gained  his 
education  with 
difficulty.  He 


BIRTHPLACE   OF   CLAY 


settled    in    Ken- 


2  76 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Election  of  Van 
Buren,  1836. 


tucky  as  a  young  man,  and  long  represented  that  State  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate.  John  C. 
Calhoun  was  born  in  South  Carolina  in  1782,  and  was 
graduated  at  Yale  College.  Clay  and  Calhoun  were  both 
bold  advocates  of  the  war  with 
England  in  1812.  Webster, 
who  was  born  in  the  same 
year  with  Calhoun,  entered 
Congress  in  1813,  during  the 
war.  From  this  time  these 
three  men  gradually  came  to 
the  front  as  the  greatest  mas- 
ters of  the  art  of  debate  the 
country  had  known.  Calhoun 
was  a  member  of  Monroe's 
Cabinet,  Clay  of  John  Quincy 
Adams's,  Webster  of  Harrison 
and  Fillmore's.  But  they  were 
all  three  greatest  in  Congress. 
Each  of  them  desired  to  be 

President,  but  all  were  disappointed.  Calhoun  was  Vice- 
President  for  eight  years,  from  1825  to  1833.  Clay  was 
active  in  bringing  about  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which 
Calhoun  favored.  Later  than  this  Calhoun  became  the 
chief  advocate  of  the  doctrine  that  the  States  were  sov- 
ereign, and  that  the  Union  was  a  compact  of  sovereign 
States.  Clay  and  Webster,  on  the  other  hand,  were  advo- 
cates of  the  authority  of  the  Union.  Clay  was  the  author 
of  the  Compromise  of  1850,  which  Webster  favored.  Cal- 
houn died  in  1850;  Clay  and  Webster  in  1852. 

In  1836  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  was  nomi- 
nated by  the  Democrats  and  elected  President.     He  fol- 


DANIEL   WEBSTER. 


RISE   OF   WHIGS  AND  DEMOCRATS. 


277 


lowed  the  policy  of  Jackson,  but  in  a  gentler  way.  He 
did  not  veto  any  bills  passed  by  Congress.  Van  Buren 
was  born  at  Kinderhook,  New  York,  in  1782.  He  lived 
more  than  twenty  years  after  his  retirement  from  the 
presidency,  dying  in  1862. 


WEBSTER'S    HOME 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 

THE    STEAMBOAT,    THE    RAILROAD,    AND    THE    TELEGRAPH. 

SOON  after  1800,  certain  changes 
began  in  ways  of  travel  that  have 
made  life  different  from  that  of  our 
forefathers.  We  have  seen  in  pre- 
vious chapters  that  travel  in  old 
times  was  very  slow.  Men  jogged 
along  day  after  day  and  week  after 
week  to  make  a  journey  of  hun- 
dreds of  miles  on  horseback,  or 
they  were  jolted  over  bad  roads  in 
stage-wagons  or  carriages.  Pack- 
horses  or  heavy  wagons  carried  all 
the  freight  that  went  by  land.  Boats,  rowed  or  pushed 
with  poles,  went  slowly  up  and  down  the  rivers,  carry- 


the  I9th  century. 


278 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


ing  passengers  and  freight.      Periaugers,  with  oars  and 
sails,  and  other  small   vessels,  plied   up   and   down  the 
coast,  and  all  the  ships  at  sea  were  propelled  by  sails. 
In   ships  our  people  made  great  im- 
provements.     The   "  Baltimore  clipper," 
a  schooner  with  raking   masts — that  is, 
masts    that    slanted    backward — was    fa- 
mous for  its  speed.     Our  frigates  gained 
advantages  in  the  War  of   1812   by  be- 
ing better  sailers  than  the  English  men- 
of-war.      At   a   later   period   the   Ameri- 
can "  clipper-built  ships  "  were  the  swift- 
est   sailing-vessels    in    the    world.      This 
improvement  in     superiority  in  building  swift  craft  and  sailing  them  has 

ships  made  by 

Americans.    Bai-  remained  with  America  to  the  present  tune. 

After  the  invention  of  the  steam-engine  in  England, 
steatmboat,ri8o7.     attempts  were  made  in  France,  Scotland,  and  America 

to  build  boats  that   would  go  by 
steam.       But    Robert    Fulton,    an 
American,  built  the  first  really  suc- 
cessful steamboat.     This  boat,  the 
Clermont,  was  launched  in   1807, 
and  ran  between  New  York  and 
Albany,  to  the  great  wonder  of 
all   who    saw   her.      Steamboats 
soon  after  took  the  place  of  keel- 
boats  on   the  Western  rivers,  and 

they  greatly  aided   in   the  rapid  development  of   settle- 
ments in  the  new  country. 

Steamboats  served  for  commerce  and  travel  where 
there  were  rivers  and  lakes.  But  how  should  the  traffic 
on  the  Western  rivers  and  the  Great  Lakes  be  connected 


FULTON'S    FIRST 


The  Erie  and 
other  canals. 


STEAMBOAT,   RAILROAD,   AND    TELEGRAPH. 


279 


with  the  rivers  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the 
sea  ?  Canals,  long  used  in  Europe,  were  thought  of  for 
this  purpose,  and  Washington  was  much  interested  in  a 
proposed  canal  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Ohio  River. 
But  the  first  great  canal  in  this  country  was  that  from 
the  Hudson  River  to  Lake  Erie.  The  chief  promoter  of 
this  work  was  De  Witt  Clinton,  Governor  of  New  York. 
It  was  eight  years  in  construction.  It  was  begun  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1817,  and  in  1825  its  completion  was  cele- 
brated by  a  procession  of  boats  from  Lake  Erie  to  the 
ocean,  where  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton  poured  a  keg 
of  Lake  Erie  water  into  the  sea,  as  a  sign  of  their  union. 
This  canal,  by  opening  a  trade  with  the  West,  made 
New  York  the  greatest  city  of  the  United  States. 

But,  for  the  more  mountainous  country  of  the  Middle  The  "National 
States,  a  great  "  National  Road  "  for  wagons  was  planned 
and  built  from  western  Mary- 
land   as    far  as   the   western 
part  of  Indiana.     The  exten- 
sion of    railroads    soon    ren- 
dered it  of  no  importance  as 
a  national  work. 

But  the  greatest  change  of 
all,  in  the  life  of  Americans, 
was  made  by  the  railway, 
which  was  introduced  from 

England.     The  first  railroads  were  merely  tracks  of  iron  Railroads  intro- 
duced about  1830, 

bars,  on  which  little  cars,  loaded  with  coal,  were  drawn 
from  the  mines.  The  first  railway  in  the  United  States 
was  but  two  miles  long,  and  was  used  only  for  haul- 
ing stone.  The  cars  were  drawn  by  horses.  The  first 


THE    FIRST   RAILROAD   PASSENGER-CAR    IN    ENGLAND. 


FIRST    STEAM 
PASSENGER-TRAIH 


280 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


American  im- 
provements in 


Invention  of  the 
electric  tele- 
graph. 


First  electric 
telegraph. 


passenger-train  in  America  was  run  on  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  in  1830,  but  the  cars  were  drawn  by  horses 
the  first  year.  The  extension  of  railways  was  very  rapid  ; 
they  changed  America  more  than  any  other  country, 
because  here  the  distances  are  so  great.  We  have  almost 
as  many  miles  of  railway  as  all  the  world  besides. 

The  first  passenger-cars  were  merely  stage-coaches  on 
the  rails,  and  in  other  countries  they  still  keep  something 
of  this  form.  In  America  large,  airy  cars  for  passengers 
were  early  introduced,  and  the  parlor-car,  the  sleeping- 
car,  the  hotel-car,  and  the  dining-car  are  all  of  American 
origin,  and  are  little  used  elsewhere.  The  street  tram- 
way, or  horse-railroad,  and  the  elevated  railways  for 
rapid  travel  in  cities,  were  first  used  in  this  country. 

The  electric  telegraph,  in  its  present  practical  shape, 
was  the  invention  of  an  American  artist,  S.  F.  B.  Morse. 
In  old  times  people  sent  messages  by 
objects  shown  on  high  ground,  by 
lights  displayed  at  night,  or  by  bon- 
fires kindled  on  the  hills.  Even  the 
wild  Indians  sent  intelligence  across 
the  plains  by  waving  a  blanket  over 
a  fire  and  thus  making  a  "  smoke- 
signal."  In  1835  Morse  set  up  and 
worked  a  telegraphic  wire  by  elec- 
tricity. But  it  was  seven  years  later 
before  he  could  persuade  Congress 
to  appropriate  money  to  set  up  the 
first  line. 

During  the  years  of  struggle  to  get  his  invention 
tried,  Morse  was  so  extremely  poor  as  often  to  be  with- 
out food  for  a  whole  day  together.  In  1842  Morse  had 


STEAMBOAT,   RAILROAD,    AND    TELEGRAPH.        28l 


THAT    LITTLE 
GIRLS   DRESSED   WHEN 
CHILD. 


gone  to  his  lodgings  in  despair  on  the  last  night  of  the 
session  of  Congress.  There  were  a  large  number  of  bills 
in  advance  of  the  one  for  promoting  the  telegraph.  But 
the  next  morning  the  daughter  of  Commissioner  Ells- 
worth called  at  his  lodgings  and  informed  him  that  a  bill 
had  passed  granting  $30,000  to  build  an  experimental  tele- 
graph line.  When  the  first  line  was  built  from  Washing- 
ton to  Baltimore,  in  1844,  this  young  lady  was  allowed 
to  dictate  the  first  dispatch,  which  she  did,  sending  the 
words,  "  What  hath  God  wrought ! "  The  first  public 
news  dispatch  brought  to  Washington  the  intelligence  GRANDMA  WAS  A 
that  James  K.  Polk  had  been  nominated  for  President. 
Silas  Wright,  a  Senator,  who  was  put  in  nomination 
for  Vice-President  at  the  same  time,  sent  a  message  de- 
clining the  nomination.  But  the  members  of  the  con- 
vention would  not  believe  that  news  could  go  to  Wash- 
ington and  back  in  so  short  a  time,  and  so  they  waited 
to  hear  by  other  means  before  they  would  believe  that 
the  message  was  genuine. 

The   introduction   of   the   railway   and  the  invention  change  in  modes 

of  living  produced 

of  the  telegraph  have  completely  changed  the  condi-  by  railroad  and 
tions  of  our  life.  In  former  times  it  was  weeks  after  a 
presidential  election  before  the  result  could  be  gener- 
ally known.  So  wide  is  our  country  to-day  that,  if  intel- 
ligence had  to  be  carried,  as  formerly,  by  stage-coaches 
and  post-boys  on  horseback,  it  would  take  months  for 
an  important  event  to  be  known  in  remote  regions  of 
the  country.  Now,  every  important  bit  of  news  is  known 
from  end  to  end  of  the  country  in  a  few  hours.  Rail- 
roads, too,  have  made  distant  places  seem  near  together, 
and  distributed  the  comforts  of  civilization  to  the  most 
remote  parts  of  the  country. 


A  BONNET  OF 


282 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES, 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 

ANNEXATION    OF    TEXAS. — BEGINNING    OF    THE 
MEXICAN    WAR. 


The  "hard  times  " 
of  1837. 


DURING   the   administration   of   Van   Buren,   various 
causes  brought  on  severe  financial  distress  in  1837.     The 
"  hard    times "    were   attributed    by   the    people    to    the 
hostility  of  Van    Buren   to   the 
banks. 

In  1840  General  William 
Henry  Harrison  was  nominated 
by  the  Whigs  against  Van  Bu- 
ren. The  canvass  of  that  year 
was  one  of  wild  excitement. 
The  Whigs,  to  please  the  popu- 
lar feeling  of  the  time,  boasted 
that  their  candidate  lived  in  a 
log-cabin  and  drank  hard  cider. 
They  drew  log-cabins  on  wheels 
in  their  processions.  It  is 
known  in  the  history  of  Amer- 
Harnson  elected  ican  politics  as  the  "  Log-cabin  and  Hard-cider  Cam- 

President,  1840. 

His  death.  paign.        Harrison   was  triumphantly   elected,   and    was 

inaugurated  amid  wild  rejoicings.     But  he  died  in  one 
month  after  the  beginning  of  his  term. 

Harrison  was  born  in  Charles  City  County,  Virginia, 
in  1773,  and  was  a  son  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  Governor 
of  Virginia.  He  was  educated  at  Hampden-Sidney  Col- 
lege, and  entered  the  army  as  an  ensign  in  1791.  Harri- 
son was  aide-de-camp  to  General  Wayne  in  his  campaign 


Sketch  of  Harri- 
son's life. 


ANNEXATION  OF   TEXAS. 


283 


in  Ohio,  and  was  afterward  Secretary  of  the  Northwest 
Territory,  delegate  in  Congress,  the  first  Governor  of 
Indiana  Territory,  and  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs. 
His  selection  for  the  presidency  was  due  to  the  fame 
won  in  his  conduct  of  the  war  against  Tecumseh,  and 
his  admirable  and  fortunate  career  in  the  second  war 
against  England.  When  nominated  for  the  presidency, 
he  held  the  humble  office  of  clerk  to  the  county  court. 

The  Vice-President  who  had  been  elected  at  the  same  Tyler's 
time  with   Harrison  was  John  Tyler,  who  was  born  in 
Virginia  in   1790,  and  who  had  been  a  member  of  Con- 
gress and  Governor  of  his  native  State.     On  the  death 
of  Harrison,  Tyler  succeeded  to  the  presidency,  accord- 
ing to  the  Constitution.     He  did  not  sympathize  with 
the  views  of  his  party  regarding  the  bank  question,  and, 
when   Congress   passed   a   bill  for 
its  re-establishment,  he  vetoed  the 
measure.    This  act  brought  on  him 
the  anger  of  the  Whigs  and  a  sus- 
picion   of    bad   faith.      His   whole 
administration  was   passed  in   dis- 
sension with  the  party  that  elect- 
ed  him,   and    when    he   left    office 
he  was  not  popular. 

In  1844  the  Whigs  nominated 
the  eloquent  Henry  Clay  for  Pres- 
ident ;  the  Democrats  nominated 
James  Knox  Polk,  of  Tennessee. 
Polk,  who  advocated  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas,  was  elected.  Polk  was  born  in  Tennessee  Poik  elected 

President,  18 

in  1795,  and  he  was  the  first  President  that  was  a  native 
of  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  He 


284 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


i 


JAMES    KNOX    POLK. 


Career  of 
Houston. 


had  been  Speaker  of  the  national 
House  of  Representatives,  and  was 
nominated  in  preference  to  Van  Bu- 
ren  because  the  latter  opposed  the 
annexation  of  Texas. 

The  most  important  event  of  Ty- 
ler's administration  was  the  passage 
of  a  bill  for  the  annexation  of  Tex- 
as, which  was  accomplished  just  be- 
fore Tyler  gave  up  office  to  Polk. 
Texas  had  been  one  of  the  States  of 
the  Republic  of  Mexico.  A  large 
number  of  Americans  had  settled  on 
grants  of  land  there.  These  came 
into  collisio'n  with  the  Mexican  government,  which  was 
arbitrary  and  oppressive,  and  an  armed  revolution  broke 
out  in  Texas  in  1835. 

The  Texans  were  commanded  by  General  Sam  Hous- 
ton. Houston  was  born  in  the  mountain-region  of  Vir- 
ginia in  1793.  He  got  little  education,  and  showed  from 
the  first  the  vein  of  adventurousness  which  ran 
through  his  career.  When  the  family  removed  to 
Tennessee,  he  spent  much  time  with  neighboring 
Indians,  and  was  adopted  by  one  of  the  Chero- 
kees.  He  enlisted  in  the  army,  and  attracted  Jack- 
son's attention  by  his  bravery  in  his  great  battle 
with  the  Creek  Indians.  He  was  promoted  in 
the  army,  but  resigned,  studied  and  practiced  law, 
and  was  twice  elected  to  Congress.  Becoming  un- 
popular, he  followed  his  Cherokee  father  to  his  new 
home  on  the  Arkansas  River,  adopted  the  Indian  dress, 
and  lived  three  years  in  the  tribe,  visiting  Washington 


THE  MEXICAN    WAR. 


285 


in  the  interest  of  the  Indians.  In  1832  he  went  to  Texas, 
then  a  Mexican  State,  and  in  the  Texan  Revolution  he 
became  commander-in-chief. 

Santa  Anna  marched  against  the  Texans,  and  at  the  The  Texan 
taking  of  Fort  Alamo  he  put  to  death  all  opposed  to 
him,  and  he  also  executed  five  hundred  men  at  Goliad. 
Houston  prudently  fell  back  until  Santa  Anna  vyas  com- 
pelled to  weaken  his  force  by  detachments.  At  last, 
with  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  Houston  surprised 
the  main  division  of  the  Mexicans,  about  eighteen  hun- 
dred strong.  The  Texans  went  into  battle  crying, 
"  Remember  the  Alamo ! "  and  Santa  Anna's  army  was 
destroyed  and  he  made  prisoner. 

Texas  gained  a  virtual  independence  by  this  battle  and  Texas  annexed 
Houston  became    President  of  the  new  republic,  which 
remained  independent  for  about  ten  years.     The  people 
of  Texas  were  largely  from  the  United    States,  and   in 
1845  Texas  was  annexed  to 
the  United  States  by  treaty, 
and  admitted  to  the  Union. 
In  territory  Texas  is  about 
the  size  of  France. 

The  annexation  of  Texas 
was  strongly  opposed  by 
some  people  in  the  United  States  because  its  laws  opposition  to  the 

annexation  of 

allowed   slavery,   and   it    would    be   an   addition   to   the  Texas, 
power  of  the  slaveholding  States.      Its  annexation  was 
also  opposed   by  many  who  feared  a  war  with  Mexico, 
for  that   country  had   never  given   up   its   hope   of   re- 
conquering Texas. 

There  were  already  other  grounds  of  quarrel  with   Grounds  of  quar- 

rel  with  Mexico. 

Mexico.      In    the    violent    revolutions    in    that    country 


TEXAS 

265,  780  Square  Miles 

FRANCE 

2O4,  178  Square  Miles 

286 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


American  citizens  had  been  robbed  of  a  great  deal  of 
property  by  those  claiming  authority.  As  one  Mexi- 
can government  quickly 
overthrew  another,  the 
United  States  tried  in 
vain  to  get  a  payment 
of  what  was  due  to  our 
citizens.  And  even  if 
Mexico  had  consented  to 
the  annexation  of  Texas, 
there  would  have  re- 
mained a  dispute  about1 
its  true  boundary.  Our 
government  supported 
the  claim  of  Texas,  that 
the  Rio  Grande  was 
the  true  border,  while 

Mexico  would   not   allow   that   the    State  of   Texas   ex- 
tended farther  to  the  west  than  the  Nueces  River. 

When  General  Taylor  occupied  this  disputed  terri- 
tory, in  1846,  the  Mexicans  attacked  his  troops,  and  thus 
hostilities   began.     With  a  force  much  inferior  to  that 
of  the   Mexicans,  Taylor  fought  and  won  the  battle  of 
Palo  Alto,  and  afterward  attacked  and  defeated  the 
Mexicans    in   a   strong    position   at    Resaca   de    la 
Palma. 

These  defeats  drove  the  Mexicans  across  the  Rio 
Grande.     In  May  Taylor  crossed  the  river  and  took 
possession  of  the  city  of  Matamoros.     But  the  Mexi- 
cans   showed   no   disposition   to   make   peace.      Having 
capture  of  Mon-    received  re-enforcements,  Taylor  marched  on  the  forti- 

terey.  * 

fied    city  of    Monterey,   which    was   defended    by    more 


Beginning  of  the 
Mexican  War. 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 


287 


''"  ' 


than  ten  thousand  Mexicans.  Taylor's  force  was  smaller. 
The  place  was  captured  on  the  24th  of  September,  1846, 
after  several  days  of  hard  fighting. 

General  Taylor  now  advanced  farther  into  Mexico,  Battle  of  Buena 
but  the  United  States  government  changed  its  plans, 
and  orders  were  sent  to  Taylor  to  detach  all  but  five 
thousand  of  his  troops  to  the  assistance  of  General  Scott, 
who  was  to  command  in  a  new  campaign,  which  was  to 
be  made  into  Mexico  by  way  of  Vera  Cruz.  Thus 
weakened,  Gen- 
eral Taylor  took 
up  a  strong  po- 
sition at  Buena 
Vista,  where  he 
was  assailed  by 
twenty  thou- 
sand Mexicans 
under  Santa  Anna.  After  two  days  of  the  most  coura- 
geous fighting,  and  after  running  the  greatest  risk  of  an 
overwhelming  defeat,  the  little  American  army  achieved 
the  most  brilliant  victory  of  the  war — a  victory  which 
made  Taylor  the  idol  of  the  country,  and  afterward 
brought  about  his  election  to  the  presidency. 

By  this  time  the  war  had  shown  the  immense  supe-  character  of  the 

American  troops. 

riority  of  the  American  troops,  the  most  of  whom  were 
volunteers.  The  Mexicans  often  fought  bravely,  but  the 
frequent  revolutions  and  petty  civil  wars  in  Mexico  had 
demoralized  officers  and  soldiers.  The  arms  of  the  Mexi- 
cans were  also  out  of  date.  The  Americans  of  that  time 
were  brave  and  enterprising,  and  a  little  too  fond  of  mili- 
tary glory.  They  fought  with  great  boldness  and  steadi- 
ness, and  their  early  victories  made  them  expect  success. 


288 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


CHAPTER   XLVIII. 


Persistence  of  the 
Mexicans. 


Conquest  of  New 
Mexico. 


Conquest  of  Cali 
fornia. 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR,  AND  THE  ANNEXA- 
TION OF  NEW  TERRITORY. 

IT  is  probable  that  the  government  of  the  United 
States  expected  at  first  to  conclude  the  war  after 
one  or  two  battles  by  Taylor  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Rio  Grande.  But,  if  the  Mexicans  proved  them- 
selves as  soldiers  inferior  to  the  troops  which  marched 
against  them,  they  showed  themselves  stubborn  in 
their  refusal  to  treat  for  peace  after  repeated  de- 
feats. Mexico  was  so  filled  with  factions,  and  one 
Mexican  government  was  so  soon  turned  out  by 
another,  that  no  ruler  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  take 
the  responsibility  of  making  a  humiliating  peace. 

The  war  had  been  begun  with  the  view  of  securing 
Texas,  and  of  enforcing  the  claim  of  that  State  to  the 
territory  east  of  the  Rio  Grande,  as  well  as  to  reclaim 
the  damages  due  to  citizens  of  this  country.  But  many 
of  the  American  people  at  that  time  were  eager  for 
more  territory,  and  the  object  of  the  struggle  was  pres- 
ently changed.  Soon  after  war  was  declared,  Colonel 
Kearny  was  sent  to  conquer  the  thinly  settled  northern 
portion  of  Mexico  and  Upper  California.  New  Mexico 
was  conquered  without  resistance  in  August,  1846.  A 
civil  government,  subject  to  the  United  States,  was  im- 
mediately established  there. 

A  much  more  important  acquisition  was  California, 
which  was  taken  from  Mexico  before  Colonel  Kearny 
could  get  there.  The  name  of  this  State  while  it  be- 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE  MEXICAN    WAR.  28o 

longed  to  Mexico  was  Alta  California,  or,  in  English, 
Upper  California ;  Lower  California  still  remains  a  part 
of  Mexico.  Upper  California  was  first  visited  by  Span- 
iards in  1542.  Sir  Francis  Drake,  the  same  who  took 
Ralegh's  colony  back  to  England  in  1585,  visited  Upper 
California  in  1579,  calling  it  New  Albion,  which  means 
New  England.  It  was  nearly  two  hundred  years  later, 
in  1769,  when  Catholic  missionaries  from  Spain  made 
the  first  settlement  of  white  people  in  that  country. 
There  were  only  about  ten  thousand  white  inhabitants 
in  the  whole  province  when  it  was  seized  by  the  United 
States  in  1846.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  California 
settlers  from  the  United  States  set  up  a  movement  for 
independence  and  tried  to  establish  a  government,  known 
now  as  "  The  Bear  Flag  Republic."  They  were  aided 
by  Captain  Fremont  (afterward  a  general),  who  was  in 
the  province  as  the  leader  of  an  exploring  expedition. 
United  States  naval  officers  on  the  coast,  expecting  a 
war  between  this  country  and  Mexico,  raised  the  Ameri- 
can flag  on  shore,  and  after  some  fighting  the  province 
remained  in  American  hands  and  was  definitely  annexed 
at  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War. 

The  sparsely  settled  portions  of  Mexico  known  as  object  of  the  war 
California  and  New  Mexico  had  now  come  into  the 
hands  of  the  United  States,  and  it  became  a  main  ob- 
ject with  the  government  to  close  the  war  in  such 
a  way  as  not  to  surrender  the  great  territory  thus 
acquired. 

When  it  became  evident  that  General  Taylor's  vie-  Scott's  expedi- 

.  111  •  r    t'on  planned. 

tones  in  northern  Mexico  only  wounded  the  vanity  or 
the  Mexicans  without  subduing  them,  it  was  resolved 
to  land  a  force  at  Vera  Cruz  and  march  into  the  interior. 


290 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED    STATES, 


Vera  Cruz  taker 


It  was  thought  that  the  Mexicans  would   readily  make 
peace  when  their  capital  was  threatened. 

General  Scott,  at  that  time  commander-in-chief  of  the 
American  armies,  took  charge  of  this  expedition.  He 
landed  on  the  gth  of  March,  1847, 
and  immediately  laid  siege  to 
Vera  Cruz.  The  city  surrendered 
on  the  27th  of  the  same  month. 

Marching  into  the  interior, 
General  Scott  found  the  Mexican 
general,  Santa  Anna,  opposing 
him  at  a  strongly  fortified  posi- 
tion. On  the  1 8th  and  I9th  of 
April,  1847,  Scott  fought  the  bat- 
tle of  Cerro  Gordo,  completely 
defeating  and  dispersing  the 
Mexican  army.  But  the  more  the 

Mexicans  were  defeated,  the  more  unwilling  were  they 
to  make  peace  with  an  invading  army. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  undertakings  that  ever  fell 
to  the  lot  of  an  army  now  became  necessary.  The 
American  force  of  ten  thousand  men  had  advanced  into 
the  very  heart  of  Mexico.  It  had  to  subsist  on  the  coun- 
try, and  to  attack  the  Mexicans,  now  rallying  in  great 
numbers,  in  strongly  fortified  positions. 

•Battles  about  the  Arrived  in  the  region  of  the  capital,  General  Scott 
der  of  the  city  of  fought  and  won  the  battle  of  Contreras  on  August  20, 
1847,  and  the  battle  of  Churubusco  on  the  same  day. 
After  this  battle  there  was  an  armistice,  but  attempts  at 
negotiation  failed,  and  on  the  8th  of  September  Scott 
defeated  the  Mexicans  at  Molino  del  Rey.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  September  I3th  the  American  troops  carried  the 


Difficulty  of 
Scott's  march. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 


29I 


fortress  of  Chapultepec  by  storm,  going  over  the  works 
with  scaling-ladders  and  fighting  a  hand-to-hand  battle 
within  the  castle  walls.  The  city  of  Mexico  was  attacked 


SCOTT'S   CAMPAIGN    FROM    VESA   CRUZ   TO   THE   CITY    OF    MEXICO. 


at   the   same  time,  and   the   next  day  it  was  evacuated 
by  the  Mexicans  and  occupied  by  General  Scott. 

Although  the  Mexicans  had  lost  every  considerable  Peace  concluded, 

February,  1848. 

battle  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  to  the  conquest  of 
the  capital,  their  national  pride  made  them  very  loath 
to  conclude  a  peace.  In  February,  1848,  nearly  five 
months  after  the  capture  of  the  capital,  a  treaty  was 
signed,  by  which  all  the  territory 
of  New  Mexico,  as  then  consti- 
tuted, and  Upper  California,  became 
United  States  territory.  Our  gov- 
ernment, however,  agreed  to  pay 
fifteen  million  dollars  to  Mexico, 
and  to  discharge  the  claims  of  our 
own  citizens  against  that  country. 
General  Winfield  Scott,  whose 
victories  brought  the  Mexican  War 
to  a  close,  was  born  in  Petersburg 
Virginia,  in  1786.  He  entered  the 
army  in  1808.  His  brilliant  services 


WINFIELD   SCOTT. 


292 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


in  various  battles  during  the  War  of  1812  had  raised 
him  by  the  close  of  that  contest  to  the  rank  of  major- 
general.  In  1841  he  became  general-in-chief  of  the 
army.  His  conquering  march  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the 
city  of  Mexico  showed  high  military  ability.  He  ran 
for  President  in  1852  and  was  defeated.  When  the  civil 
war  began  he  was  seventy-five  years  old,  and  he  was 
obliged  by  infirmities  to  yield  the  chief  command  to 
younger  men.  General  Scott  died  in  1866,  at  the  age 
of  eighty. 

There  has  always  been  a  difference  of  opinion  in  the 
United  States  about  the  Mexican  War.  Even  at  the 
present  time  opinions  are  divided  as  to  whether  it  might 
not  have  been  wisely  avoided.  It  cost  us  the  lives  of 
thousands  of  brave  men  who  fell  in  fighting  on  a  for- 
eign soil,  or  perished  by  the  heat  of  the  climate  and  the 
diseases  of  the  country,  and  it  caused  much  misery  to  in- 
nocent people  in  Mexico.  No  doubt,  the  ignorance  and 
prejudice  prevailing  in  that  country  at  the  time,  and  the 
frequent  overthrow  of  one  government  and  the  setting 
up  of  another,  made  it  difficult  to  treat  with  Mexico 
without  war.  From  the  time  that  American  settlers 
became  a  dominant  element  in  Texas,  a  collision  with 
the  Mexicans  was  probably  inevitable. 
The  territory  ac-  The  territory  acquired  from  Mexico,  first  and  last,  was 

quired  from  Mex-    ,  _  .  _ 

ico.  larger  than  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 

tionary War.  It  comprised  all  the  region  now  included 
in  Texas,  California,  Nevada,  Arizona,  and  Utah,  the 
greater  part  of  Colorado,  and  a  part  of  Wyoming.  The 
acquisition  of  this  territory  has  exerted  a  most  impor- 
tant influence  upon  the  recent  history  of  the  country. 
By  throwing  into  the  hands  of  an  energetic  people  the 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE  MEXICAN   WAR. 


293 


gold  and  silver  mines  of  that  region,  it  has  added  so 
largely  to  the  world's  stock  of  the  precious  metals 
as  to  affect  profoundly  the  commerce  of  the  globe. 

Vast      min- 


MAP  SHOWING      C 

Territory  Acquired  from  Mexico  w 


cattle-raising  interests, 
with  innumerable  oth- 
er sources  of  wealth, 
have  been  added  to 
the  United  States.  This  annexation  opened  to  us  the 
trade  of  the  Pacific,  and  added  immeasurably  to  the  vari- 
ety of  climate  and  production  within  the  bounds  of  the 
United  States.  The  unexpected  political  results  which 
followed  will  be  traced  hereafter. 

Before  the  Mexican  War  broke  out,  the  United  States  Discovery  of  the 

Oregon  country. 

was  already  reaching  out  to  the  Pacific.  Some  discover- 
ies had  been  made  in  that  quarter  as  long  ago  as  1791. 
A  certain  Captain  Gray,  from  Boston,  went  to  the  Pacific 
coast  to  trade  for  furs  in  1787.  These  he  took  to  China, 
and  brought  back  a  cargo  of  teas  from  there  to  the  United 
States  in  1790.  He  was  the  first  man  to  carry  the  flag  of 
the  new  American  Republic  round  the  world.  In  1791  he 


294 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Explorations  by 
Lewis  and  Clark. 


went  to  the  Pacific  again,  and  in  1792  entered  before  any 
other  navigator  the  mouth  of  a  large  river  which  he 
called  the  "  Columbia,"  after  the  name  of  his  ship.  This 
gave  the  United  States  a  claim  to  what  was  called  the 
"  Oregon  country  " — Oregon  being  another  name  for  the 
Columbia  River. 

The  province  of  Louisiana,  which  was  purchased  from 
France  in  1803,  included  the  territory  drained  by  the  Mis- 
souri. Captains  Lewis  and  Clark  were  sent  by  President 
Jefferson  in  1803  to  ascend  the  Missouri  and  cross  the 
Rgcky  Mountains  to  the  Columbia.  These  brave  explor- 
ers, after  the  greatest  dangers  and  hardships,  spent  a  win- 
ter on  the  Columbia,  and  returned  to  St.  Louis  in  1805, 
after  an  absence  of  two  years  and  four  months  from  the 

settlements    of    civ- 
ilized people. 

Our     claim      to 
the  Oregon  country 
rests  chiefly  on  the 
exploration  by  Cap- 
tain Gray  and  that 
by  Lewis  and  Clark. 
When  the  Mexican 
War      began,      we 
were  engaged  in  a 
dispute    with    Eng- 
The  Oregon  dis-    land  regarding  our  right  to  this  territory.     This  dispute 
was  settled  in  1846  by  a  treaty  which  gave  the  United 
States  all  south  of  latitude  49°. 

After  the  admission  of  Missouri  in  1821,  no  new  States 
were  taken  into  the  Union  for  fifteen  years.  Arkansas 
was  admitted  as  a  slave  State  in  1836,  and  was  balanced 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE  MEXICAN   WAR.  295 

by  Michigan,  which  came  in  as  a  free  State  in  the  follow-  Admission  ot 

Arkansas    1836  • 

ing  year.     Two  States  in  the  extreme  South  were  admit-  Michigan',  1837- 
ted  in  1845 — Florida,  which  we  had  acquired  from  Spain,  ^x"^,^. 
as  we  have  seen,  and  Texas,  which  had  been  a  part  of  Iowa>  I846;  Wis' 

consm,    1848;    and 

Mexico  and  then  an  independent  republic.     But  in   1846  California,  1850. 
Iowa  was  admitted,  and  in    1848  the  extreme  northern 
State   of    Wisconsin.     In    1850  Congress   admitted  Cali- 
fornia, the  first  State  on  the  Pacific  coast,  which  was  then 
like  a  new  \vorld  to  Americans. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

THE   QUESTION   OF   SLAVERY   IN   POLITICS. 

THE  annexation  of  Texas  opened  a  new  chapter  in  The  annexation 

of  Texas  sets  in 

American   history.      It  involved   us  in  a  dispute   which   motion  a  chain 
produced  the  Mexican  War.     That  brought  a  large  addi-  ^^hVctvii 
tion  to  our  territory.     It  became  necessary  to  settle  the  war- 
question  of   slavery  in  the   annexed   territory,  and  this 
opened    the   slavery   agitation    anew.      Both  of   the   old 
parties  were  after  a  while  split  asunder  by  the  debate, 
and    the   question  of   slavery  or   no  slavery  in  the  Ter- 
ritories   became    the    leading   issue  in  our   politics.      In 
sixteen  years  from  the  annexation  of  Texas,  this  chain  of 
causes  had  plunged  the  country  into  the  most  tremen- 
dous  civil    war   in   the   history    of   the  world.      In   just 
twenty  years  the  war  had  ended  in  the  entire  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  United  States.     Thus,  the  annexation  of 
Texas  brought  about  unforeseen  results  which  changed 
the  history  of  the  continent. 


296 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Anti-siavery  agi-         After  the  adoption  of  the   Missouri  Compromise  in 

tation  opposed.  .  . 

1820,  it  had  been  an  accepted  maxim  in  our  politics  that 
the  slavery  discussion  should  not  be  reopened.  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips,  and  a  few  others  who 
insisted  on  advocating  the  abolition  of  slavery,  were 
frowned  upon  as  unpatriotic.  They  were  severely  perse- 
cuted even  by  Northern  people,  who  feared  that  their 
agitation  of  the  subject  might  destroy  the  Union. 
The  wiimot  Pro-  But,  when  the  arrangement  made  by  the  Missouri 

vise. 

Compromise  was  once  disturbed  by  annexing  Texas  and 
other  Mexican  territory,  the  political  struggle  between 
the  free  and  slave  States  began  anew.  In  1846,  during 
the  Mexican  War,  a  bill  was  introduced  in  Congress 
looking  to  a  peace  with  Mexico,  to  be  made  by  a  pur- 
chase of  territory.  Mr.  Wiimot,  of  Pennsylvania,  moved 
to  add  a  proviso  that  slavery  should  never  exist  in  the 
territory  thus  acquired.  This  was  known  as  "  the  Wii- 
mot Proviso."  The  proviso  was  finally  rejected,  but  it 
opened  the  question  of  freedom  or  slavery  in  the  new 
region  before  the  Mexican  War  was  ended,  and  the  agi- 
tation thus  introduced  once  more  into  politics  did  not 
cease  while  slavery  existed. 
Election  and  The  first  effect  of  the  excitement  was  to  render  cer- 

death  of  Presi-  .  ...  . 

dent  Taylor.  tain  the  defeat  oi  the  Democratic  party  in  the  election 
fe'edTt^hT  of  I848.  A  large  number  of  Democrats  and  a  smaller 
presidency.  number  of  Whigs  seceded  from  the  old  parties  and 

formed  the  Free-Soil  party,  which  desired  to  shut  slav- 
ery out  of  the  Territories.  The  Democrats  nominated 
General  Cass ;  the  Whigs  nominated  General  Zachary 
Taylor,  the  hero  of  Buena  Vista,  for  President.  The 
Free-Soilers  nominated  ex-President  Martin  Van  Buren. 
Taylor  was  elected. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  SLAVERY  IN  POLITICS. 


297 


ZACHARY    TAYLOR. 


General  Taylor  was  the  twelfth 
President  of  the  United  States,  and 
of  these  first  twelve  Presidents  sev- 
en were  born  in  Virginia,  which 
got  the  name  of  "  the  Mother  of 
Presidents"  from  that  fact.  Zach- 
ary  Taylor  was  born  in  Virginia 
in  1784,  but  he  was  carried  to  Ken- 
tucky in  his  infancy.  He  got  a 
commission  in  the  army  when  he 
was  twenty -four  years  old.  He 
gained  his  first  distinction  by  his 
gallant  defense  of  Fort  Harrison 
in  the  war  against  Tecumseh's  In- 
dians. In  a  war  waged  against  the  Seminole  Indians  Sketch  of  Taylor. 
in  Florida  he  defeated  the  savages  in  a  severe  battle 
at  Okeechobee.  His  fame  rests  chiefly  on  his  achieve- 
ments in  the  Mexican  War.  After  serving  for  a  year 
and  four  months,  President  Taylor  died,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York,  the  Vice- 
President. 

But  while  the  country  was  excited  over  the  presiden-  Discovery  of  gold 

J  in  California. 

tial  election,  an  event  took  place  in  the  newly  annexed 
Territory  of  California  that  gave  fresh  violence  to  the 
slavery  debate.  Particles  of  gold  were  discovered  in 
the  Sacramento  River  in  1848.  The  California  mines 
proved  to  be  the  richest  in  the  world.  In  1849,  a 
great  rush  of  people  to  the  new  Territory  set  in.  Ships 
loaded  with  passengers  sailed  around  Cape  Horn  to  seek 
their  fortunes  in  a  land  of  gold.  Long  trains  of  emi- 
grants in  ox-carts  wended  their  way  across  the  almost 
unknown  region  between  the  Missouri  River  and  the 


298 


HIS'lORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


California  a  free 
State. 


Pacific  slope,  a  region  at  that  time  occupied  by  bands 
of  warlike  Indians. 

In  1849  tne  people  of  California  set  up  a  State  govern- 
ment without  authority  from  Congress,  and  asked  to  be 
immediately  admitted  to  the  Union.     As  part  of  the  new 
State  was  south  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  line,  and  as 
its  Constitution  forbade  slavery, 
the  slave   States  were   opposed 
to  this  addition  to  the   number 
of  free  States. 

Meantime  the  growing  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  at  the  North 
made  it  harder  to  reclaim  run- 
away slaves,  who  escaped  in 
large  number  to  the  free  States. 
The  Southern  States  complained 
of  this  as  a  violation  of  the  Con- 
stitution, which  provided  that  all 
such  fugitives  should  be  sent 
back.  At  the  same  time  many 

MILLARD    F1LLMORE.  -' 

people   in   the    Northern   States 

Fugitive  slaves      complained  that  the  public  traffic  in  slaves  in  the  city 
trade  in  the  Dis-    of  Washington  was  highly  improper  in  the  capital  of  a 

trict  of  Columbia.     /• 

free  country. 

The  veteran  statesman  Henry  Clay  had  always  been 
a  skillful  compromiser  of  difficulties.  He  now  arranged 
and  carried,  with  the  help  of  Webster  and  others,  the 
measures  which  have  since  been  known  as  "  The  Com- 
promise of  1850."  By  this  compromise  slavery  was  to  be 
continued  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  but  the  buying 
and  selling  of  slaves  there  was  to  be  abolished.  At  the 
same  time  a  new  and  severe  law  was  made  for  the  return 


The  Compromise 
of  1850. 


THE   QUESTION  OF  SLAVERY  IN  POLITICS. 


299 


Franklin  Pierce 


of  fugitive  slaves,  which  was  no  longer  left  to  the  States, 
but  intrusted  to  United  States  officers.  California  was 
admitted  as  a  free  State,  and  New  Mexico  organized  as  a 
Territory  without  slavery.  The  leading  statesmen  of  the 
country  imagined  that  these  measures,  which  were 
adopted  after  long  debate,  and  which  gave  something  to 
each  side,  would  forever  put  to  rest  this  dangerous 
question. 

There  was  indeed  a  lull  in  the  excitement.  The  little  Election  of 
Free-Soil  party,  which  had  helped  to  defeat  the  Demo- 
crats in  1848,  cast  fewer  votes  in  1852  for  its  candidate, 
John  P.  Hale,  than  it  had  cast  for  Van  Buren  in  1848. 
The  Whigs  nominated  General  Winfield  Scott,  the  con- 
queror of  the  city  of  Mexico,  but  divisions  on  the  slavery 
question  had  broken  the  power  of  that  party,  and  Frank- 
lin Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  the  Democratic  candi- 
date, was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 

Pierce  was  born  in  New  Hamp- 
shire in  1804.  He  was  a  lawyer,  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  a  United  States  senator. 
He  served  in  the  Mexican  War  as 
a  brigadier-general  under  Scott.  He 
was  a  man  of  correct  life,  but  of 
mediocre  ability. 

The  Compromise  of  1850  did  not 
prove  to  be,  what  its  promoters  called 
it,  "  a  finality  " ;  that  is,  an  end  of  the 
debate.  The  fugitive-slave  law  exasperated  the  North-  opposition  to  the 

fugitive-slave 

ern  people.     Every  negro  claimed  under  it  excited  the  iaw. 
sympathy    of   the   people   and   awakened   opposition   to 
slavery.     Every  arrest  of  a  fugitive  slave  was  made  the 


FRANKLIN    PIERCE. 


300 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


occasion  of  anti-slavery  speeches,  and  so  great  was  the 
feeling  that  in  many  places  it  became  impossible  to  exe- 
cute the  law. 

Effect  of  "  uncie  The  anti-slavery  sentiment  at  the  North  was  quick- 
ened and  diffused  at  this  time  by  the  publication  of  the 
novel  entitled  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  It  was  calcu- 
lated to  excite  sympathy  for  slaves,  and  it  at  once 
reached  a  circulation  that  has  hardly  an  equal  in  the 
history  of  literature. 

Dissatisfaction  at  The  South  was  equally  dissatisfied.  The  violent  cen- 
sures of  anti-slavery  speakers  and  writers  excited  bit- 
ter feelings.  It  soon  became  evident  also  that  about 
all  of  the  territory  remaining  to  be  admitted  into  the 
Union  would,  in  the  nature  of  things,  come  in  as  free 
States.  It  was  seen  that  this  would  put  the  slave  States 
in  the  minority,  and  destroy  what  was  called  "  the  bal- 
ance of  power  "  between  the  two  sections. 

Efforts  to  secure          Attempts  were   therefore  made   to  purchase  the  isl- 

new  territory  at 

the  south.  The  and  of  Cuba  in  order  to  make  new  States  from  it.  But 
Spain  refused  to  sell  Cuba.  The  desire  of  our  people 
for  new  territory  had  been  greatly  inflamed  by  their 
recent  acquisitions,  and  threats  were  made  to  seize  Cuba 
by  force.  Expeditions  were  secretly  fitted  out  in  the 
United  States  to  promote  insurrections  in  the  island, 
but  they  came  to  nothing.  Several  attempts  were  made 
by  "  filibusters  "  to  seize  territory  from  the  weak  states 
in  Central  America.  These  were  continued  until  1860, 
when  the  chief  filibuster,  William  Walker,  was  captured 
and  executed  by  Central  American  authorities. 


APPROACH  OF   THE   CIVIL    WAR. 


CHAPTER   L. 

BREAK-UP    OF    OLD     PARTIES. — APPROACH    OF    THE 
CIVIL    WAR. 

THE  Whig  party  was  passing  into  decrepitude.     The  Decay  of  the 
measures  it  had  advocated — the  United  States  Bank,  the 
tariff,  and  internal  improvements — were  no  longer  of  the 
highest  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  people. 

The  Whigs  had  been  badly  beaten  in  1852.  Those  The  American,  or 
opposed  to  the  Democratic  party  felt  obliged  to  take  party. 
new  ground.  A  party  was  founded  in  1853  which  pro- 
posed to  keep  foreigners  out  of  office  and  to  make  them 
wait  a  longer  term  before  becoming  citizens.  This  was 
styled  the  "  American  party."  Its  members  were  organ- 
ized in  secret  lodges,  and  it  carried  many  elections  by 
surprise.  The  public  was  much  excited  by  the  mystery 
attending  the  action  of  this  organization.  To  all  ques- 
tions about  its  doings  the  members  of  the  order  answered, 
"  I  don't  know."  From  this  arose  the  name  "  Know- 
nothing,"  which  was  commonly  applied  to  the  party. 
Know-nothingism  spread  rapidly  for  two  or  three  years, 
but  died  as  quickly  as  it  had  come  into  life,  for  the 
slavery  question  took  a  new  form-,  which  left  no  «• 
room  for  any  other  debate. 

This  new  form  was  brought  about  by  the  bill  organ 
izing  the  Territories  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  introduced 
in    1854  by  Senator  Douglas,  of   Illinois.     This   bill   re-  The  Kansas- 
pealed  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which  had  been  adopt- 
ed in  1820,  and  had  been  always  afterward  looked  upon 
with  almost  as  great  reverence  as  the  Constitution  itself. 


STEPHEN    A.    DOUGLAS. 


->O2  HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

By  that  compromise  slavery  had  been  forbidden  in  all 
new  territory  north  of  latitude  thirty-six  degrees  and  a 
half.  Kansas  and  Nebraska  were  on  the  north  side  of 
this  line.  The  "  Nebraska  Bill,"  as  it  was  called,  repealed 
this  restriction,  and  left  it  for  the  "settlers  in  the  new  ter- 
ritory to  decide  the  question  of  slavery  for  themselves. 
This  was  called  "  Squatter  Sovereignty  "  in  the  discus- 
sions of  the  time. 
Formation  of  the  The  excitement  regarding  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 

Free-Soil  and 

then  of  the  Re-  Compromise  exceeded  any  ever  before  known  in  this 
country.  Many  people  in  the  North  and  some  at  the 
South  regarded  it  as  an  act  of  bad  faith.  Most  of  the 
people  of  the  South  claimed  that  they  had  an  equal 
right  with  free-state  people  to  take  their  property  of 
every  kind  to  the  new  Territories.  Both  sides  became 
exceedingly  violent.  As  President  Pierce  favored  the  Ne- 
braska Bill,  those  Whigs  who  took  the  same  side  gener- 
ally went  over  to  the  Democratic  party,  while  those  op- 
posed to  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  whether 
Whigs  or  Democrats,  united,  and,  with  the  old  Free-Soil 
party,  formed  an  "  Anti-Nebraska  party."  This  present- 
ly took  the  name  "  Republican,"  but  it  is  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  the  old  Republican  party  of  the  days  of 
Jefferson. 

violent  collisions         Meantime  the  great  struggle    between   the  two   see- 
in  Kansas. 

tions  had  been  transferred  to  the  new  Territory  of 
Kansas.  This  lay  directly  west  of  Missouri,  and  a 
strong  effort  was  made  to  secure  it,  both  by  the  North 
and  the  South.  Emigrants  poured  in  from  both  sides 
of  the  line  between  the  free  and  the  slave  States.  So- 
cieties were  formed  at  the  North  to  promote  emigra- 
tion, and  in  Missouri  to  keep  emigrants  from  the  free 


APPROACH  OF   THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


303 


President,  1856. 


States  away.  Many  free-state  men  were  stopped  and 
turned  back  on  the  Missouri  River.  The  free -state 
people  and  the  slave-state  people  now  came  into  collision 
on  the  Kansas  prairies.  Men  from  Missouri  assisted  the 
Southern  party.  Rival  governments  were  formed.  Kan- 
sas soon  became  the  scene  of  a  violent  struggle.  Mid- 
night assassinations  and  mobs  were  common,  and  some- 
thing like  open  war  broke  out  from  time  to  time.  The 
men  from  the  Northern  States  soon  had  a  majority,  and 
asked  admission  to  the  Union.  The  bloody  feud  in  Kan- 
sas had  by  this  time  produced  the  greatest  excitement 
in  Congress  and  convulsed  the  whole  country. 

While  the  people  were  in  this  state  of  passionate  Buchanan  elected 
excitement  about  the  struggle  in  Kansas,  the  presidential 
canvass  of  1856  came  on.  The  Democrats  nominated 
James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania ; 
the  new  Republican  party  nomi- 
nated John  C.  Fremont,  who  had 
become  known  as  a  daring  explorer 
in  the  Western  plains,  and  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  conquest  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  American,  or  Know- 
nothing,  party  nominated  ex-Presi- 
dent Millard  Fillmore.  Buchanan, 
the  Democratic  candidate,  was  elect- 
ed. Fillmore  got  but  eight  electo- 
ral votes,  Fremont  one  hundred  and 
fourteen,  and  Buchanan  one  hundred 

and  seventy-four.  The  election  showed  that  the  people 
were  interested  in  nothing  but  the  settlement  of  the 
slavery  question.  No  presidential  election  had  ever 
before  turned  wholly  or  chiefly  on  this  question. 


JAMES    BUCHANAN. 


304 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


sketch  of  James  Buchanan,  the  fifteenth  President,  was  born  in 

Buchanan. 

Pennsylvania  in  1791.  He  was  a  successful  lawyer,  a 
member  of  Congress,  United  States  minister  to  Russia, 
member  of  the  Senate,  and  Secretary  of  State  in  the 
Cabinet  of  President  Polk.  He  was  minister  to  England 
during  the  administration  of  Pierce.  In  1854  he  was  one 
of  the  signers  of  a  document  known  as  the  "  Ostend 
.  Manifesto,"  by  which  three  foreign  ambassadors  of  the 
United  States  assembled  at  Ostend,  in  Belgium,  threat- 
ened that  their  Government  would  seize  the  island  of 
Cuba  by  force  if  it  could  not  be  purchased  from  Spain. 
Buchanan  lived  until  1868. 
Dissolution  of  the  The  division  of  parties  on  the  slavery  question  caused 

Union  feared.  ....  .,__.  _, 

men  to  forebode  a  division  of  the  Union.  Every  effort 
to  settle  the  question  once  for  all  had  failed.  The  Mis- 
souri Compromise,  the  Compromise  of  1850,  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill,  had  all  failed  to  quiet  the  agitation  of  the 
slavery  question.  Two  forms  of  society  existed  under 
the  same  Government  which  were  incompatible  with 
each  other.  In  such  a  conflict  one  or  the  other  must 
give  way  and  go  down. 
The  Dred  Scott  It  was  thought  that,  if  it  could  be  settled  by  a  decision 

decision. 

of  the  Supreme  Court,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal, 
everybody  would  acquiesce,  and  the  matter  would  be 
ended.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  at 
length  attempted  to  settle  the  question  of  slavery  in  the 
Territories,  and  thus  take  it  out  of  politics.  In  the 
spring  of  1857,  in  tne  case  of  a  negro  named  Dred  Scott, 
who  sued  for  his  freedom  on  the  ground  that  his  master 
had  taken  him  to  a  free  State,  the  Supreme  Court  de- 
cided that  the  African  whose  ancestors  had  been  slaves 
had  no  rights  under  the  Constitution,  and  that  Congress 


APPROACH  OF   THE   CIVIL    WAR.  305 

had  no  power  to  forbid  slavery  in  the  Territories.  So 
far  from  settling  the  question,  this  decision  proved  to 
be  oil  on  the  fire.  The  North  now  feared  that  slavery 
would  be  made  national  by  a  new  decision  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  which  might  establish  the  right  of  the 
citizen  of  one  State  to  convey  slave-property  to  another. 

While  the  Northern  people  were  alarmed  over  the  John  Brown's 
Dred  Scott  decision,  an  event  occurred  which  carried  the 
excitement  at  the  South  to  a  still  higher  pitch.  In  1859 
John  Brown,  who  had  borne  a  conspicuous  part  as  a  free- 
state  man  in  the  murderous  feuds  of  the  Kansas  struggle, 
seized  the  United  States  armory  at  Harper's  Ferry,  in  the 
mountains  of  Virginia,  and  undertook  to  liberate  the 
slaves.  As  he  had  but  eighteen  men  under  his  com- 
mand, he  was  soon  overcome.  He  was  tried  and  exe- 
cuted, but  this  raid  alarmed  the  South  more  than  the 
Dred  Scott  decision  had  the  North.  People  in  the 
Southern  States  began  to  fear  that  the  Northern  people 
generally  were  trying  to  arm  the  slaves  for  the  murder 
of  their  masters. 

The    excitement    over    the    subject   of    slavery   had  Lincoln  elected 

President,  1860. 

already  divided  into  two  parts  nearly  all  the  great 
religious  denominations,  and  had  destroyed  the  Whig 
party.  In  1860  it  divided  the  Democratic  organization. 
The  majority  in  the  convention  of  that  party  nominated 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  the  author  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill.  The  Democrats  who  adhered  most 
strongly  to  the  South  put  forward  John  C.  Breckin- 
ridge,  of  Kentucky.  The  Republicans  nominated  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  of  Illinois.  The  Constitutional  Union 
party,  as  it  was  called,  which  desired  to  make  peace 
between  the  angry  sections,  nominated  John  Bell,  of 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Tennessee.     Lincoln  was  elected.     We  have  now  reached 
the   point   where  the   angry  debate  between  the   North 
and  the  South  was  at  last  about  to  break  into  a  long  and 
terrible  war. 
increase  in  the  One  element  in  the  political  jealousies  of  this  excited 

number  of  free 

states.  Minne-  time  was  the  increase  of  free  States.  Minnesota  was 
1858*; Oregon,'  admitted  in  1858,  Oregon  in  1859,  and  Kansas  soon  after 
1859;  and  Kansas,  the  eiectjon  of  Lincoln,  in  1 86 1.  There  was  now  no  terri- 

1861. 

tory  left  at  the  South  from  which  new  slave  States  could 
be  made. 


CHAPTER   LI. 

HOW    THE    GREAT    CIVIL    WAR    BEGAN. 


The  movement  of  THE  excitement  at  the  South  had  reached  a  pitch  that 
rendered  an  effort  to  break  up  the  Union  inevitable. 
From  the  moment  that  Lincoln's  election  was  known, 
active  preparations  were  made  in  what  were  called  the 
"cotton  States"  —  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas — to  dissolve 
the  Union  of  States. 

Difference  of  From  the  beginning   of   the  government   there  were 

opinion  about 

state  sover-  two  opinions  in  regard  to  the  power  of  a  State  under  the 
Constitution.  The  Federalists  thought  that  nearly  all  the 
powers  of  government  were  vested  in  the  United  States 
authorities,  but  the  Jefferson  Republicans  held  that  a 
State  retained  a  considerable  share  of  independence.  At 
a  later  period  the  chief  advocate  for  the  sovereignty  of 
the  State  had  been  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina, 
who  thought  a  State  could  declare  an  act  of  Congress 


5> 


p 


HOW    THE   GREAT  CIVIL    IV A R  BEGAN.  ^O7 

null — that  is,  not  valid  within  its  bounds.  In  1832  the 
State  of  South  Carolina  declared  the  tariff  law  null,  and 
forbade  its  citizens  to  pay  the  duties.  This  was  called 
nullification ;  but  President  Jackson,  who  did  not  believe 
in  the  doctrine,  threatened  the  nullifiers  with  the  army 
and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  South  Carolina  was 
compelled  to  submit. 

The  States-rights  doctrine — as  the  belief  in  the  right  The  seven  "cot- 
of  a  State  to  act  independently  was  called — had  found  a  ordinances  of  «*- 
good  many  adherents  in  the  South,  and  in  the  present 
excitement  the  extreme  Southern  States  claimed  that,  by 
exercising  the  right  of  the  individual  State,  they  might 
lawfully  secede   from    the  Union.     South    Carolina   first 
passed  an  ordinance  of  secession  on  December  20,  1860. 
By   the    ist   of    February    each    of    the    seven    "  cotton 
States "  had    declared    itself   separated   from  the  Union 
and  independent. 

Meantime  the  recollection  of  the  success  of  the  Mis-  The  Peace  Con- 

vention  meets  in 

souri  Compromise  in  1820,  and  of  the  Compromise  of  vain. 
1850,  led  some  members  of  Congress  to  try  to  settle 
the  troubles  once  more  by  compromise.  Many  plans  for 
changes  in  the  Constitution  and  laws  were  proposed  in 
Congress,  but  all  without  avail.  A  "  Peace  Convention," 
suggested  by  Virginia,  assembled  in  Washington  on  the 
4th  of  February,  1861.  There  were  delegates  from  all 
but  the  seceded  States.  John  Tyler,  ex-President  of  the 
United  States,  was  president  of  this  convention.  But  the 
plan  of  compromise  suggested  by  the  Peace  Convention 
failed,  like  all  others.  The  time  for  compromises  had 
gone  by,  and  it  was  beyond  the  ingenuity  of  man  to  pre- 
vent a  collision  between  the  two  sections  which  had  op- 
posed each  other  in  politics,  and  were  now  about  to  try 


308 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  period  of 
confusion. 


Anderson  in  Fort 
Sumter. 


their  strength  and  endurance  in  the  deadly  struggles  of 
the  battle-field. 

It  was  a  time  of  great  trouble  and  division.  Many 
people  -at  the  North  sympathized  with  the  secession 
movement ;  and  others  were  opposed  to  any  forcible 
measures  to  retain  the  Southern  States  in  the  Union. 
Many  people  at  the  South,  on  the  other  hand,  were  in 
favor  of  maintaining  the  Union.  Even  the  Cabinet  of 
President  Buchanan  was  divided.  Some  of  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet  desired  to  help  the  seceding  States  to 
which  they  belonged  ;  the  other  Secretaries  considered 
secession  rebellion,  and  urged  that  force  should  be  used 
to  suppress  it.  The  President,  for  his  part,  did  not  be- 
lieve that  the  States  had  a  right  to  go  out  of  the  Union, 
but  he  also  did  not  believe  that  he  had  any  authority  to 
compel  them  to  stay  in.  So  everything  was  in  confu- 
sion, debate,  and  perplexity  in  that  awful  winter,  during 
which  a  storm  was  gathering,  the  force  and  extent  of 
which  nobody  could  divine. 

All  eyes  were  turned  to  Charleston  harbor,  where 
thousands  of  excited  Southerners  faced  a  little  garrison 
of  seventy  men  under  command  of  Major  Robert  An- 
derson. On  the  evening  of  the 
day  after  Christmas,  Anderson 
suddenly  moved  his  garrison 
in  the  dark  from  the  weak 
Fort  Moultrie  into  the  strong- 
er Fort  Sumter.  A  ship  sent 
with  supplies  and  re-enforce- 
ments was  fired  on  by  the 
South  Carolina  batteries  and 
turned  back. 


HOW    THE   GREAT  CIVIL    WAR  BEGAN.  ,OQ 

On    the   4th    of    February,   the   day   that   the    Peace  confederate  gov- 

f^  ,  •  .          -,,7.      ,   .  ernment  formed. 

Convention  met  in  Washington,  there  assembled  in 
Montgomery,  Alabama,  a  conven- 
tion of  delegates  from  the  se- 
ceded States.  This  convention 
proceeded  to  form  a  new  gov- 
ernment, under  the  title  of  "  The 
Confederate  States  of  America." 
Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi, 
was  elected  President. 

Jefferson  Davis,  who  held  the 
office  of  President  as  long  as  the 
Confederacy  existed,  was  born  in 
Kentucky,  June  3,  1808.  He  was 
graduated  at  West  Point  in  1828. 
He  left  the  army  in  1835,  and  be- 
came a  member  of  Congress  ten 

years  later.  In  the  Mexican  War  he  was  colonel  of  a 
Mississippi  regiment,  and  was  distinguished  for  cour- 
age and  coolness  in  action.  He  served  several  years  as 
United  States  Senator  from  Mississippi,  and  was  Secre- 
tary of  War  in  President  Pierce's  Cabinet.  He  again 
entered  the  Senate  in  1857,  ^rom  which  he  resigned  when 
Mississippi  seceded  in  1861. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugu-  The  bombard- 
ment of  Fort 
rated   President  of   the    United    States.     Measures  were  sumter. 

soon  taken  to  re-enforce  and  supply  the  garrison 
of  Fort  Sumter.  But  the  ships  sent  were  de- 
tained outside  the  bar  by  a  storm,  and,  as  soon 
as  their  coming  was  known,  all  the  Confederate 
batteries  about  the  harbor  opened  on  Fort  Sum- 
ter, which,  after  a  while,  replied.  For  thirty-six 


JEFFERSON    DAVIS. 


3io 


HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


hours  the  bombardment  continued,  setting  fire  to  the 
wood-work  of  the  fort  and  pounding-  its  walls  to  pieces. 
At  the  end  of  this  time  Major  Anderson,  whose  provis- 
ions were  nearly  exhausted,  agreed  to  evacuate  the  fort. 
The  war  begun.  Curiously  enough,  nobody  was  killed  on  either  side 

in  this  bombardment.  But  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter 
changed  the  whole  situation.  Doubt  was  at  an  end  on 
both  sides.  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and 
Arkansas,  forced  now  to  take  one  side  or  the  other,  soon 
joined  the  Confederacy.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Sun- 
day morning  on  which  Major  Anderson  marched  out  of 
Fort  Sumter  saw  the  Northern  States  also  almost  of  one 
mind.  Men  were  wild  with  excitement,  and  political  par- 


ties  were 
forgotten. 
It.  was  not 
for  Con- 
gress or 

the  President  to  decide  on  peace  or  war — the  war  burst 

uncontrollably  from  the  pent-up  passions  of  the  people. 

Perhaps   so   wild    a   burst   of   feeling  was   never   before 

known  to  pervade  such  multitudes. 


HOW   THE   GREAT  CIVIL    WAR  BEGAN.  3  r  j 

In  response  to  a  call  from  the  President,  nearly  a  hun-  The  rush  to  arms, 
dred  thousand  men  enlisted  in  the  Northern  States  in 
three  days.  Trains  loaded  with  volunteers  began  to 
move  toward  Washington.  Money  and  ships  without 
stint  were  offered  to  the  government  by  the  rich.  Regi- 
ments marching  through  the  streets  of  towns  were 
greeted  everywhere  by  the  shouts  of  the  people,  who 
sometimes  wept  as  they  cheered  them. 

The  Southern  people  were  equally  enthusiastic  and  The  south  in 
unanimous — equally  resolved  and   hopeful.     The   young 
men  of  the  South  eagerly  took  up  arms,  and  poured  like 
a  torrent  into  Virginia.     The  great  civil  war  had  burst 
upon  the  country  in  all  its  fury. 


CHAPTER   LII. 

CONFEDERATE    VICTORY    AT    BULL    RUN. — THE     FIRST 
WESTERN    CAMPAIGN. 

WE  are  to  remember  that,  though  the  war  was  caused  The  question  of 

Union  or  seces- 

by  slavery,  it  was  not  at  first  about  slavery,  but  about  sion. 
secession.  "  Our  States  are  sovereign,  and  have  a  right 
to  secede  when  they  think  they  have  reason,"  was  the 
Southern  view  of  the  matter.  "You  are  a  part  of  the 
Union,  which  forms  but  one  nation,  and  to  break  up  the 
Union  is  rebellion,"  was  the  Northern  view.  But  the 
passions  excited  by  the  long  and  bitter  debate  over  ques- 
tions relating  to  slavery  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  struggle. 
Neither  side  dreamed  of  the  weary  and  bloody  conflict 
which  was  to  follow.  Each  expected  to  settle  the  matter 


312 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Advantages  and 
disadvantages. 


in  two  or  three  battles.  Both  of  them  found  out  what 
stubborn  work  it  was  to  fight  against  Americans. 

The  Southerners  were  naturally  more  military  than 
the  Northern  people;  they  were  generally  accustomed 
to  the  saddle  and  the  use  of  fire-arms.  Many  of  the 
Northern  men,  especially  those  of  the  Eastern  States, 
had  to  learn  to  load  and  fire  a  gun  after  they  went  into 
the  army.  For  a  long  war  the  North  had  several  ad- 
vantages. Money,  trade,  and  the  mechanical  facilities 
for  producing  arms,  ships,  clothing,  and  other  military 
necessities,  belonged  in  a  superior  degree  to  the  North. 
It  had  also  the  advantage  of  numbers ;  the  South  the 
advantage  of  fighting  in  defense  of  its  own  ground,  and 
of  moving  on  shorter  lines. 

The  prompt  The  divided  sympathies  of  the  people  in  the  border 

the  North  secures  States,  and    the    quick    sending    forward    of    volunteers 

the  border  region.     ,-  IXTLU  MI  i      TV  ir 

from  the  North  by  many  railroads,  prevented  Mary- 
land, Kentucky,  and  Missouri  from  seceding.  In  the 
western  part  of  Virginia,  where  the  slaves  were  few,  the 

Union  sentiment  was 
strong,   and   this   re- 
gion,  in    1862,   sepa- 
rated itself  from  Vir- 
ginia  and    formed  a 
new      State,      which 
took  the  name  of  West  Virginia. 
Several  battles,  though  of  no  great  mag- 
nitude, were  fought  to  secure  control  of 
West  Virginia.     The   Union    armies   here 
Early  battles  in     were  commanded  by  General  George  B.  McClellan.     A 

West  Virginia. 

small  battle  at  Philippi  was  won  by  the  Union  troops, 
and  a  more  considerable  engagement  at  Rich  Mountain 


BULL  RUN.— FIRST    WESTERN   CAMPAIGN. 


3'3 


The  South  loses 
the  border. 


(June  ii,  1861),  lasting  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  gave 
the  possession  of  West  Virginia  to  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  failure  to  secure  the  border  region  was  a  seri- 
ous loss  to  the  Confederacy,  for  this  was  a  land  of 
Indian  corn,  most  valuable  for  feeding  of  armies.  The 
South  thus  lost  also  the  Ohio  and  Potomac  Rivers — 
the  best  line  of  defense. 

The  war  had  opened  with  several  small  actions,  such  opening  move- 
as  the  seizure  of  ports  and  navy-yards  by  the  Confeder- 
ates, the  attack  on  Union  troops  by  a  mob  in  Baltimore, 
several  skirmishes  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and 
battles  in  the  mountains  of  Vir- 
ginia. The  Confederates  had 
moved  their  capital  from 
Montgomery,  Alabama,  to 
Richmond,  Virginia,  and  the 
first  important  battle-ground 
would  lie  between  the  two 
capitals.  So  sure  were  the 
people  of  a  short  war,  that  '' 
most  of  the  Northern  volun- 
teers had  been  called  out  for  only  three  months,  and  it 
was  thought  necessary  to  fight  a  battle  before  their  time 
should  expire.  The  people  and  newspapers  at  the  North 
were  clamoring  for  a  forward  movement,  and  the  com- 
manders were  despised  for  their  caution. 

General    McDowell    moved   toward    Richmond,   and 
on   the  2ist  of   July,  1861,  the   battle   of    Bull   Run,  or 
Manassas,  was  fought,  chiefly  by  raw  troops  on  both 
sides.     Generals  Joseph  E.  Johnston  and  Beauregard 
commanded  the  Confederates.      The  battle  was  a  se- 


FIRST    BATTLE    OF   BUL 


BULL  RUN.— FIRST   WESTERN  CAMPAIGN.          315 

vere  one  and  the  losses  were  heavy,  but  the  Confederates  confederates  win 

the  first  battle. 

were  re-enforced  at  the  right  moment,  and  the  Union 
army  was  at  length  entirely  routed,  and  fled  back  to 
Washington  in  confusion. 

The  early  struggle  in  eastern  Kentucky  was  a  little  Early  struggle  for 
war  by  itself.  Besides  minor  skirmishes,  Colonel  Gar- 
field,  afterward  President,  defeated  the  Confederate  lead- 
er Humphrey  Marshall  in  the  little  battle  of  Preston- 
burg  on  the  i /th  of  January,  1862.  Another  sharp  con- 
flict took  place  at  Mill  Spring  two  days  later,  in  which 
General  George  H.  Thomas  was  victorious  over  the 
Confederate  general  Zollikoffer,  who  was  killed  in  the 
engagement. 

The  battles  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas  proved  a  side  side  campaign  in 

Missouri. 

campaign  that  had  for  its  aim  the  securing  of  this 
State,  in  which  opinion  was 
much  divided  for  the  Union  or 
the  Confederacy.  The  Govern- 
or of  Missouri  took  sides  with 
the  Confederacy.  In  the  hard- 
fought  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek, 
August  10,  1 86 1,  General  Lyon, 
of  the  United  States  army,  was 

killed,  and  his  troops  retreated  after  the  fight.  The  Con- 
federate general  Price  attacked  Lexington,  Missouri,  on 
the  1 8th  of  September  following,  and  captured  nearly 
three  thousand  Union  soldiers.  In  November  follow- 
ing, General  Pope,  of  the  United  States  army,  by  sev- 
eral skillful  movements,  intercepted  and  captured  large 
bodies  of  recruits  on  their  way  to  join  the  Confeder- 
ate army.  A  severe  battle  fought  at  Pea  Ridge,  in 
northwestern  Arkansas,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1862,  finally 


• 


HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


ANDRE*    H.    FOOTE. 


Grant  takes  Fort 
Henry  and  Fort 
Donelson. 


Fall  of  Island 
No.  10. 


JOHN    POPE. 


secured  Missouri  to  the  Union,  by  preventing  the  Con- 
federate forces  from  re-entering  that  State. 

The  first  important  movement  after  Bull  Run  was 
the  campaign  which  broke  the  Confederate  line 
at  the  West,  and  gave  the  Mississippi  River 
above  Vicksburg  to  the  control  of  the  Federal 
Government.  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  who  had  already 
begun  to  show  good  military  abilities,  moved 
against  Fort  Henry,  on  the  Tennessee  River, 
in  co-operation  with  the  gunboat  fleet  under 
Commodore  Foote.  Grant  and  Foote  captured 
Fort  Henry  February  6,  1862.  The  Tennessee 
River  here  runs  near  to  the  Cumberland  River.  On 
the  Cumberland,  only  about  twelve  miles  from  Fort 
Henry,  was  the  Confederate  Fort  Donelson.  After  a 
stubborn  battle,  in  which  the  Union  loss  was  twenty- 
three  hundred  men,  this  fort  was  also  surrendered,  and 
with  it  fifteen  thousand  Confederate  troops.  This  broke 
the  center  of  the  Confederate  line  of  defense  in  the 
West,  and  forced  them  to  fall  back  from  Nashville  and 
other  points. 

General  Pope,  supported  by  gunboats,  now  moved 
against  the  Confederates  who  blocked  the  Mississippi  at 
New  Madrid  and  Island  No.  10.  New  Madrid  was 
evacuated,  but,  in  order  to  capture  Island  No.  10,  Pope, 
who  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  must  cross  be- 
low the  island  and  cut  off  its  supplies.  As  the  batteries 
on  the  island  commanded  the  channel,  he  had  to  dig  a 
canal  across  a  bend  in  the  river  in  order  to  get  trans- 
port-boats below  the  island,  so  as  to  ferry  across  the 
Mississippi.  It  took  nineteen  days  to  cut  this  canal. 
Gunboats  could  not  get  through  it,  and  the  transports 


BULL  RUN.— FIRST   WESTERN  CAMPAIGN. 


317 


could  not  cross  without  their 
protection.  Two  gunboats  were 
run  past  the  batteries  of  the 
island  at  night.  Cut  off  on  all 
sides,  the  island  was  compelled 
to  surrender,  with  nearly  seven 
thousand  men. 

The  object  of  the  Union 
troops  in  attacking  Island  No. 
10  had  been  to  take  a  step 
toward  getting  possession  of  the  Mississippi  River,  so  as  Grant  moves 

toward  Corinth. 

to  get  the  use  ot  this  great  highway,  and  at  the  same 
time  separate  the  Confederacy  into  two  parts.  For  the 
same  purpose  the  forces  under  Grant,  after  taking  Fort 
Donelson,  pushed  southward  up  the  Tennessee  River, 
and  a  movement  was  planned  to  take  Corinth,  in  the 
northern  part  of  Mississippi.  Many  railroads  centered 
at  this  place.  The  Union  army,  under  General  Grant, 
was  gathered  near  Corinth,  at  Pittsburg  Landing,  in 
Tennessee,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee  River.  Grant 
had  from  thirty  to  forty  thousand  men,  and  had  no 
thought  of  a  powerful  enemy  near  at  hand.  The  Con- 
federate general,  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  rapidly  col- 
lected a  strong  army,  and  determined  to  crush  the  force 
at  the  Landing  before  Grant  could  be  re-enforced 
by  the  arrival  of  another  army  under  General  Buell. 
The  battle  of  Shiloh,  or  Pittsburg  Landing,  began 
on  Sunday  morning,  April  6,  1862.  Johnston  undertook 
to  attack  in  such  a  way  as  to  surprise  and  drive  Grant's  The  great  battle 

of  Shiloh,  or 

army  back  between  the  river  and  a  creek.     The  loss  on  Pittsburg  Land- 
that  dreadful   Sunday   was  great  on   both  sides.     The 
Confederates,  with  desperate  energy,  drove  Grant's  men 


A.    8.    JOHNSTON. 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


D.    C.    BUELL. 

Corinth  evacu- 
ated by  the  Con- 
federates. 


back  until  Pittsburg  Landing  was  almost  in  their  pos- 
session. But  their  general,  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  was 
killed.  Buell's  army  began  to  arrive,  and  the  Union 
troops  were  re-formed  in  the  night.  The  second  day's 
fighting  was  also  extremely  severe.  The  exhausted 
Confederates  under  Beauregard  at  length  retired  from 
the  field.  This  was  the  first  great  battle  of  the  war. 

The  Union  army,  when   it   had   a  little  recov- 
ered   from    the   terrible   shock   and    had    been   re- 
cruited,   moved    forward    against    Corinth,    which, 
after  a  siege,  was  evacuated   by  Beauregard  on  the 
3Oth  of  May.     The  consequence  of  this  success  was,  that 
the  whole  Mississippi  River,  as  far  down  as  Vicksburg, 
came  into  possession  of  the  Federal  authorities. 


CHAPTER   LIII. 

THE  WAR  AT  THE  EAST. — FROM  BULL  RUN  TO 
GETTYSBURG. 


McClellan  com- 
mander-in-chief. 


GENERAL  SCOTT,  who  was  commander-in-chief  of  the 
armies  of  the  United  States  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
was  old  and  infirm,  and  he  soon  retired.  McClellan,  by 
his  well-planned  battle  at  Rich  Mountain,  in  western 
Virginia,  had  shown  capacity,  and  he  was  now  called  to 
command  the  forces  in  front  of  Washington.  General 
McClellan  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1826.  He  was  an 
industrious  student  and  carried  off  honors  in  school.  He 
was  graduated  at  West  Point,  and  distinguished  himself 
by  valor  and  good  conduct  in  the  Mexican  War.  In  1857 


THE    WAR  AT   THE  EAST.  ^jg 

he  resigned  from  the  army,  to  accept  a  place  as  chief 
engineer  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  and  later  was 
president  of  another  railroad.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
war  he  was  appointed  major-general  of  volunteers.  On 
his  accession  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  he  spent  eight 
months  in  organizing  and  disciplining  his  army. 

Instead  of  moving  directly  against  the  Confederate  Peninsular  cam- 
forces  lying  in  front  of  him,  McClellan  thought  best  to  Battle  of  win- 
take  his  army  by  water  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  from  ia 
there  to  go  up  between  York  River 
and  James  River  toward  Richmond. 
The  land  between  these  two  rivers 
forms  a  peninsula  ;  this  is  therefore 
known  as  the   Peninsular  campaign. 
From    the   beginning    the   campaign 
was  unfortunate  in  many  ways.    Part 
of   the   troops  which    McClellan   ex- 
pected to  receive  were  detained  for 
the    defense    of    Washington.      The 
Confederates  forced  him  to  spend  a 
month    in    the    siege   of   Yorktown. 
Yorktown  was  evacuated  on  the  5th 
of    May.      McClellan's    troops    pur- 
sued the  retiring  Confederates,  and  fought  the  battle  of 
Williamsburg  that  day.     The  Confederates  retreated  at 
night  toward  Richmond. 

The  Confederate  general,  Thomas  J.  Jackson,  was  Battle  of  Fair 
operating  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  He  now  made  a 
series  of  rapid  manoeuvres,  by  which  he  defeated  or  con- 
fused several  bodies  of  Union  troops  and  alarmed  the 
authorities  at  Washington,  so  that  McDowell's  troops  at 
Fredericksburg  were  held  back  from  joining  McClellan 


GEORGE    B.    MCCLELLAN. 


320 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Thomas 
Jackson 


Jon; 


before  Richmond.  Meantime  the  Confederate  forces  de- 
fending Richmond,  under  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston, 
fought  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  by  attacking  one  wing  of 
McClellan's  army  while  it  was  divided  into  two  parts  by 
the  Chickahominy  River,  and  won  a  partial  success. 
Johnston  having  been  wounded  in  this  battle,  General 
Robert  E.  Lee  succeeded  him.  Jackson  now  slipped 
away  from  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  suddenly  brought 
his  force  down  by  rail  to  assist  Lee  in  the  struggle 
against  McClellan. 

General  Jackson,  who  helped  to  derange  McClel- 
lan's  plans,  was   a  native  of  Virginia,  born  in    1824, 
and  graduated  at  West  Point  in   1846.     In  the  Mexi- 
can War  he  was  twice  brevetted  for  meritorious 
conduct.     He  resigned  from  the  army  in  1852,  and 
became   a   professor  in  the  Virginia  Military   Insti- 
tute.     He   entered    the   Confederate    service   at   the 
than   beginning  of  the  war.      During  the  first  battle  of  Bull 
Run   he   resisted  a   charge  with   so  much    steadfastness 
that   he    gained   the    title   of   "  Stonewall "   Jackson,    by 
which   name  he  will  be  known  in  history. 
The  promptness  and  rapidity  of  his  march- 
es, and  the  obstinate    courage  he  showed 
on    the  battle-field,    made    him    an    im- 
portant factor  in  the  war. 

After  the  arrival  of  Jack- 
son and  the  failure  of  his  own 
re -enforcements,  McClellan 
withdrew  his  troops  to  the 
James  River.  About  this 
time  the  two  armies  were 
engaged  every  day  ;  these 


THE    WAR  AT   THE  EAST, 


32I 


conflicts  are  known  as  the  Seven  Days'  battles.     For  a  The  seven  Days 
whole    week    the    Confederates    beat    upon    McClellan's 
army.      Its  months  of  discipline  and  drill  enabled    it  to 
fall  back  slowly  before  Lee's  furious  onslaught. 

But  McClellan's  first  plan  had  failed.  The  President  P°PC  >n  command 
had  lost  confidence  in  McClellan's  ability  to  overmatch 
such  generals  as  Lee  and  Jackson.  A  new  commander 
must  be  found.  Pope,  whose  energy  and  success  at 
Island  No.  10  had  given  him  reputation,  was  put  in 
command  of  the  army  in  front  of  Washington,  and  the 
troops  on  the  James  River  were  brought  back  by  de- 
grees to  re-enforce  him. 

But  Pope  proved  not  to  be  equal 
to  the  Confederate  generals  in  his 
front.  Jackson  made  a  great  cir- 
cuit around  through  Thoroughfare 
Gap,  and  cut  off  Pope's  commu- 
nications with  Washington.  The 
Union  troops  fought  bravely  on  the 
old  Bull  Run  battle-field  (August 
29  and  30,  1862),  and  Pope  showed 
his  usual  energy,  but  his  enemy 
had  beaten  him  in  skillful  manoeu- 
vres, and  his  army  fell  back  dis- 
heartened to  the  neighborhood  of 
Washington  again,  where  it  was  a 
year  before. 

McClellan,  who,  in  spite  of  the 
unfortunate  outcome  of  his  cam- 
paign, had  won  the  confidence  of  the  men  in  the  East-  G'««t  battle  at 

Antietam,  in 

ern  army,  was  now  again  put  in  command  of  it.      Lee  Maryland,  isea. 
followed   up    his   advantages    by  crossing   the    Potomac. 


.,22  HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

Meantime  he  sent  a  force  and  captured  Harper's  Ferry, 
with  eleven  thousand  Union  soldiers.  On  the  i6th  and 
1 7th  of  September  McClellan  and  Lee  fought  one  of 
the  severest  battles  of  the  war  at  Antietam  Creek,  near 
Sharpsburg,  in  Maryland.  On  the  i8th  Lee  withdrew 
across  the  Potomac,  and  McClellan  followed  slowly, 
and  again  made  the  Rappahannock  his  line. 

But    McClellan    had   lost   the  confidence   of  his  su- 
periors, and  he  was  now  finally  removed.      General 
A.  E.  BURNSIDE.       Bumside  was  next  put  in  command  of   this    unlucky 
army.      McClellan  had  been  thought  too  cautious,   but 
Bumside  sue-        Burnside  was  rash.     He  crossed  the   Rappahannock  at 

ceeds  McClellan, 

and  is  defeated  at  Fredericksburg,  and  assailed  the  Confederate  works  on 
the  heights  back  of  the  town  on  December  13,  1862. 
His  army  was  again  defeated  with  great  slaughter. 

Hooker  succeeds          Burnside  was  relieved,  and  General  Joseph  E.  Hook- 

Burnside.     De- 
feated at  chan-      er  was  tried.      In   the   spring   of    1863    General   Hooker 

fought  what  was  called  the  Chancellorsville  campaign, 
where,  like  those  who  had  gone  before,  he  was  outma- 
noeuvred by  Lee's  generalship  and  Jackson's  marching. 
On  May  6th  Hooker  recrossed  the  Rappahannock. 
Meade  and  Lee  Lee  soon  after  crossed  the  Potomac,  and  pushed  his 

fight  a  great  bat- 
tle at  Gettysburg,   veteran    army    into    Pennsylvania,    striking    for    Harris- 
burg.     Hooker  was  relieved  from  commanding  the  army 
opposed   to   Lee,   and    General    George    G.   Meade  suc- 
ceeded   him.      Near    Gettysburg,    in    Pennsylvania,    the 
vanguards  of  the  two  great   armies  met  on  the  ist  day 
of  July,   1863.     The  people  of   the  North  and   those 
of   the   South   were   filled   with    fear   and    anxiety  as 
this   battle   approached.      The    courage    of  the    troops 
on  both  sides  was  simply   marvelous.     On    the  second 
day   of    the   battle   the    Confederates    carried    works   at 


GEORGE    G.    MEADE. 


THE    WAR  AT   THE  EAST. 


323 


both  ends  of  the  Union  line.  The 
next  day  the  Union  army  recovered 
the  lost  ground  on  its  right.  The 
Confederates  then  made  a  tremen- 
dous assault,  known  as  Pickett's 
charge,  and  broke  through  the  cen- 
ter of  the  Federal  army,  but  they 
were  soon  driven  back  defeated. 
Lee's  army  rested  a  day  and  then 
retreated.  Lee  had  lost  about  one 
third  of  his  men;  Meade  had  lost 
a  good  deal  more  than  a  fourth  of 
his.  In  all,  about  forty-eight  thousand  had  been  killed, 
wounded,  or  captured  in  this  awful  struggle  between 
two  veteran  and  resolute  armies. 


CHAPTER   LIV. 

VARIOUS   OPERATIONS   IN    1862   AND    1863. 

IN  order  to  give  a  clear  account  of  the  campaigns  introductory, 
about  Washington  and  Richmond,  down  to  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg,  we  have  put  that  branch  of  the  war  into 
one  continuous  story  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Many 
things  of  the  highest  importance  were  happening  else- 
where, while  McClellan  and  the  generals  who  came 
after  him  were  wrestling  with  Johnston,  Lee,  and  Jack- 
son for  Washington  and  Richmond. 

At   the   very    moment    that    McClellan    was    getting   Battle  of  the  iron- 

dads  at  Fortress 

ready  to  move   his   army  to   the   Peninsula,  there   took   Monroe. 


324 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


JOHN    ERICSSON. 


place  a  famous  naval  battle  in  the  waters  of  Hampton 
Roads,  near  Fortress  Monroe.  The  Confederates,  hav- 
ing seized  the  Norfolk  Navy- Yard,  had 
changed  the  hull  of  the  steam-frigate  Mer- 
rimac  into  an  iron-plated  steam-ram,  and 
named  it  the  "  Virginia."  On  the  8th  of 
March,  the  Virginia,  or,  as  she  is  gener- 
ally spoken  of,  the  Merrimac,  came  out 
from  Norfolk  into  Hampton  Roads,  and 
after  a  battle  sank  the  sloop-of-war  Cum- 
berland. The  frigate  Congress  was  next  disabled  and 
afterward  burned,  for  nothing  built  of  wood  could  make 
any  impression  on  this  iron  monster,  whose  sloping  sides 
resisted  cannon-balls  as  a  bird's  feathers  shed  the  rain. 
The  loss  of  life  on  both  the  vessels  that  were  destroyed 
was  great.  The  steam  -  frigate  Minnesota,  which  was 
aground,  was  only  saved  from  destruction  by  the  coming 
of  night.  It  was  expected  that,  with  the  morning,  the 
iron  ship  would  complete  the  sinking  of  the  shipping  in 
Hampton  Roads,  and  then  go  to  the  Potomac  and  attack 
Washington  city.  But,  at  midnight,  there  arrived  from 
New  York,  all  unexpected,  a  little  iron-plated  vessel, 
named  the  Monitor,  of  a  new  pattern,  invented  by 
John  Ericsson.  The  next  morning,  when  the  Mer- 
rimac came  out  again,  the  Monitor  successfully  de- 
fended the  Minnesota,  until  the  Confederate  ram, 
having  met  its  match,  retired. 

The   chief    peculiarity  of   the    Monitor   was  a 
f       revolving   turret   on   top,   with   walls   eight    inches 
thick,  -made  of  iron  plates.     It  had  openings  for  two 
large  guns,  which  could  be  fired  in  any  direction,  and 
which  threw  shot  weighing  one  hundred    and    sixty-six 


EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION. 


325 


pounds  with  a  charge  of  fifteen  pounds  of  powder.     The  construction  of 

.  .  the  Monitor. 

vessel  sat  low  in  the  water,  and  was  described  by  the 
Confederates  as  a  Yankee  cheese-box  on  a  raft.  Vessels 
of  this  type  proved  themselves  superior  to  any  others 
used  during  the  civil  war.  The  conflict  in  Hampton 


THE    MONITOR 


Roads  changed  the  construction  of  war-ships  the  world 
over,  for  it  proved  that  wooden  ships  were  of  no  use 
against  iron  ones. 

At  the  beginning,  many  of  the  Northern  people,  who  Preliminary 

emancipation 

were  very  much  in  favor  of  the  war  to  preserve  the  proclamation. 
Union,  had  been  opposed  to  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
But,  as  the  struggle  went  on,  the  feeling  at  the  North 
against  slavery,  as  the  cause  of  the  war,  increased.  On 
the  22d  of  September,  1862,  just  after  the  battle  of  Antie- 
tam,  President  Lincoln  announced  that,  if  any  portion  of 
the  country  should  remain  in  arms  against  the  govern- 
ment on  the  first  of  the  following  January,  he  would 
declare  the  slaves  in  that  part  of  the  country  free. 


326 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  Emancipa- 
tion Proclama- 
tion and  its 
results. 


Capture  of  New 
Orleans. 


On  the  ist  of  January,  1863,  a  proclamation  de- 
clared the  slaves  free  in  those  regions  yet  in  arms 
against  the  United  States,  "as  a  fit  and  necessary  war- 
measure  for  suppressing  said  rebellion."  Certain  por- 
tions of  the  South,  already  subjected  to  the  military 
authority  of  the  United  States,  were  excepted  in  the 
proclamation,  and  every  effort  was  made  to  keep  the 
declaration  of  freedom  within  the  limits  of  the  Presi- 
dent's constitutional  powers,  by  confining  it,  at  least  in 
appearance,  to  strictly  military  purposes.  But  its  effect 
was  to  pledge  the  country  to  the  extinction  of  slavery  if 
the  Confederacy  should  be  overthrown,  and  in  this  light 
it  becomes  a  point  of  departure  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States. 

We  have  seen  that  the  first  object  of  the  Union  ar- 
mies in  the  West  was  to  wrest  the  Mississippi  River 
from  the  Confederate  forces  who  held  it  by  powerful 
works  at  Vicksburg  and  by  forts  be- 
low New  Orleans.  While  the  armies 
were  operating  above,  the  river  was 
attacked  from  below.  On  the  i8th 
of  April,  1862,  the  bombardment  of 
the  forts  below  New  Orleans  was 
begun  by  a  fleet  of  gunboats,  and 
the  firing  lasted  for  five  days,  but 
the  forts  held  out.  At  two  o'clock 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  Far- 
ragut,  in  command  of  the  fleet,  took 
the  bold  course  of  running  his  ships 

past  the  forts.  The  Confederates  resisted  by  a  tremen- 
dous fire  from  the  forts  and  from  their  ships.  They 
also  tried  to  burn  the  United  States  vessels  by  floating 


FALL   OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


327 


down  upon  them  fire-rafts  and  burning  steamboats  load- 
ed with  cotton,  and  they  attacked  them  also  with  an  iron- 
clad ram,  named  the  Manassas.     But, 
notwithstanding  this  resolute  defense, 
Farragut  got  by  the  forts,  with  some 
loss,   and    captured    the    city.      The 
forts  afterward  surrendered. 

While   Halleck  dallied  after   tak- 
ing   Corinth,   the    Confederate    gen- 
eral Bragg  took  thirty-five  thousand 
men  by  rail  to   Mobile,  and    thence 
northward  on  another  line  and  seized 
Chattanooga.     We  shall  see  that  it  afterward  cost  the   Bragg  at  chat- 
Union  troops  some  of  the  most  desperate  battles  of  the 
war  to    dislodge  the  Confederates  from  this  stronghold. 

From  Chattanooga  Bragg  moved  north  and  invaded   Brag6r  and  Bue" 

in  Kentucky,  1862. 

Kentucky,  and  tried  to  reach  Louisville,  on  the  Ohio. 
A  foot-race  took  place  between  the  two  armies,  but 
Buell  and  the  Union  troops  reached  Louisville  first. 
After  a  severe  battle  at  Perry ville,  October  8,  1862, 
Bragg  once  more  retreated  to  Chattanooga. 

Part  of  the  Union  army  was  yet  at  Corinth.  While  Battle  of  Corinth. 
Bragg  and  Buell  were  manoeuvring  in  Kentucky,  the 
Confederates,  under  General  Van  Dorn,  attacked  this 
place  on  the  3d  and  4th  of  October,  1862,  and  by  the 
most  desperate  fighting  drove  the  Union  army  from 
line  to  line  until  a  part  of  the  attacking  force  actually 
gained  the  town.  But  the  resistance  of  the  troops  under 
Rosecrans  was  as  stubborn  as  the  attack  was  resolute, 
and  Van  Dorn's  assaults  were  repulsed. 

Hitherto   in   many  operations  the   Confederates   had  °er°inctestraesa™8atny 
the   advantage    in    generalship.      They    were    especially  vuksburg. 


BRAXTON    BHAGO. 


328 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


strong  in  this  regard  in  the  Virginia  campaigns.  But 
the  Union  armies  of  the  West  were  gradually  coming 
under  the  control  of  General  Grant,  a  man  of  restless 
vigor  and  tremendous  power  of  endurance  under  diffi- 
culty and  repulse.  All  his  first  attempts  to  take  Vicks- 
burg  failed.  Plan  after  plan  was  tried.  A  ditch  was 
dug  across  the  bend  of  the  river  opposite  Vicksburg,  in 
the  hope  that  the  river  would  change  its  bed,  but  this 
failed.  Grant  tried  to  open  oth- 
er channels  to  reach  the  water- 
courses in  the  rear  of  the  city. 
From  time  to  time,  when  one 
plan  failed,  he  resorted  to  a  new 
device. 

At   last    gunboats   and    trans- 
ports were  run  past  the  batteries. 


Crossing  the  Mississippi  at  Bruinsburg,  be- 
low Vicksburg,  Grant  got  in  the  rear  of  that 
stronghold.  He  took  Jackson,  the  capital  of 
Mississippi,  and  by  a  series  of  movements 
and  successive  battles  he  at  last  succeeded 
in  shutting  up  the  Confederate  general  Pem- 
berton,  with  his  entire  army,  in  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Vicksburg.  Grant  twice  tried  to 
siege  and  surren-  carry  the  fortifications  by  assault,  but  the  Confeder- 

der  of  Vicksburg, 

1863.  ate   soldiers  were  well-seasoned  veterans  behind  strong 

works,  and  the  assaults  proved  costly  failures.  The 
Union  army,  therefore,  settled  down  to  a  regular  siege 
of  the  place.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  the  day  after  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg  in  Pennsylvania,  the  half-starved 
garrison  of  Vicksburg,  numbering  about  thirty-two  thou- 
sand, surrendered  to  General  Grant.  During  the  siege 


FALL   OF  VICKSBURG.  ^ 

the  inmates  of  the  town  had  been  forced  to  endure 
severe  hardships,  and  many  of  the  people  took  refuge  in 
caves  dug  in  the  bank  to  be  safe  from  the  shot  thrown 
into  Vicksburg  by  the  besieging  army. 

While  Grant  was  operating  against  Vicksburg,  Gen-  surrender  of  Port 
eral  Banks,  who  had  taken  an  army  of  the  Federal  troops 
by  sea  to  New  Orleans,  was  trying  to  capture  Port 
Hudson,  farther  down  the  river.  Here,  as  at  Vicksburg, 
two  assaults  were  repulsed.  But,  when  Vicksburg  sur- 
rendered, Port  Hudson  was  obliged  to  yield.  This  gave 
the  Union  armies  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  and  cut  off  the  western  States  of  the  Con- 
federacy from  the  eastern. 


CHAPTER   LV. 

THE    CAMPAIGN    BETWEEN    NASHVILLE    AND    ATLANTA. 

THE  Western  part  of  the  war  had  become  divided  The  war  in  cen: 

tral  Tennessee. 

into  two  main  parts.  The  Union  armies  won  their  first 
object  when  they  gained  control  of  the  Mississippi.  But 
another  long  and  bitter  contest  was  fought  out  before 
they  could  secure  the  strongholds  of  central  Tennessee 
and  northern  Georgia. 

The  first  great  battle  on  this  line  was  that  of  Stone  Battle  of  stone 
River,  or  Murfreesboro,  fought  on  the  last  day  of  the  fr«sb'oro. 
year  1862,  about  the  time  that  Grant  was  beginning  op- 
erations against  Vicksburg.     The  conflict  was  marked  by 
the  brilliant  charges  made   by   the   Confederates  under 
Bragg,  which  at  length  broke  to  pieces  the  whole  right 


NASHVILLE  AND  ATLANTA. 


331 


wing  of  the  Union  army.  General  Rosecrans  had  suc- 
ceeded Buell  in  command  of  the  Union  troops.  The  re- 
sult of  the  day's  fighting  was  very  favorable  to  the  Con- 
federates. But  in  the  latter  part  of  the  day  the  half-de- 
feated Union  soldiers,  under  the  immediate  command  of 
General  Thomas,  made  the  most  determined  resistance 
to  the  dashes  which  the  Confederates  continued  to  make. 
Some  of  the  generals  wished  to  retreat,  but  Rosecrans, 
who  had  defended  Corinth  with  so  much  stubbornness, 
announced  his  intention  to  "  fight  or  die  here."  On  the 
next  day,  which  was  the  first  day  of  1863,  neither  of  the 
shattered  armies  was  in  a  condition  to  make  a  serious 
attack.  On  the  third  day  of  the  battle  the  Confederates, 
by  a  tremendous  charge,  drove  back  part  of  the  left  wing 
of  Rosecrans's  army,  but  they  were  soon  cut  to  pieces 
and  themselves  driven  back.  After  the  two  armies  had 
bravely  held  their  ground  with  varying  fortunes  for 
three  days,  Bragg  retreated,  and  Rosecrans  entered  Mur- 
freesboro.  Each  army  had  lost  about  nine  thousand  in 
killed  and  wounded,  besides 
those  captured. 

In  the  summer  and  autumn 
of  1863,  Rosecrans,  by  some 
well-planned  manoeuvres,  put 
Bragg  at  such  disadvantage 
that  he  was  forced  to  fall  back 
from  time  to  time  until  he  had 
left  Chattanooga  in  the  hands  of 
the  Union  troops.  But  Bragg 
received  re-enforcements,  and 
the  great  battle  of  Chickamauga  was  fought  on  the  The  battle  of 
1 9th  and  2oth  of  September,  1863.  It  was  a  battle  of 


BATTLES   ABOUT    CHATTANOOGA 


332 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   "STATES. 


GEORGE    H.   THOMAS. 


Battles  at 
tanooga. 


charge  and  counter-charge.  On  the  first  day  the  Union 
army  won  considerable  advantage;  but  on  the  second 
day  the  right  half  of  Rosecrans's  army  was  broken,  and 
it  retreated  in  confusion  toward  Chattanooga.  The  utter 
rout  of  the  Union  army  was  prevented  by  General 
Thomas,  whose  division  had  also  saved  the  army  at  Mur- 
freesboro.  With  extraordinary  coolness  he  held  the  left 
wing  against  repeated  assaults,  and,  when  ammunition 
failed,  his  men  used  their  bayonets  to  repel  the  Con- 
federate charges.  Though  Bragg's  troops,  by  splendid 
fighting,  had  gained  a  great  victory,  Thomas,  by  the 
most  brilliant  defense  of  the  war,  kept  them  back 

long  enough  to  enable  Rosecrans  to  prepare  for  the 

defense   of  Chattanooga,  to  which   place   the    Union 

troops  retreated. 

Grant,  who  had  gained  great  reputation  by  his 
Vicksburg  campaign,  was  now  given  command  of 
all  the  forces  west  of  the  mountains.  Rosecrans 
was  relieved,  and  Thomas,  who  was  called  "  the 
Rock  of  Chickamauga,"  was  put  in  his  place.  Grant 
took  immediate  command  of  the  besieged  troops  in 
Chattanooga,  with  Thomas  next. 

Bragg  having  sent  away  a  part  of  his  army  to  attack 
Burnside  in  East  Tennessee,  Grant  took  advantage  of 
this  weakening  of  his  force  to  attack  Bragg  in  his  front. 
The  main  body  of  Bragg's  army  was  intrenched  in 
Chattanooga  Valley.  Bragg  also  held  Missionary  Ridge, 
in  his  rear,  and  Lookout  Mountain,  to  the  southwest. 
Hooker  attacked  and  carried  Lookout  Mountain  on  the 
morning  of  November  25,  1863,  while  a  mist  shut  out 
the  summit  from  the  valley.  This  is  sometimes  called 
"  The  Battle  above  the  Clouds."  But  Sherman,  who  had 


NASHVILLE  AXD  ATLANTA. 


333 


previously  carried  an  outlying  hill  at  the  north  end  of 
Missionary  Ridge,  was  checked  in  his  attempt  to  advance 
by  the  obstinate  resistance  of  the  Confederates  under 
General  Hardee.  Grant,  therefore,  sent  the  army  under 
Thomas  out  of  Chattanooga  to  attack  the  Confeder- 
ates in  front,  with  instructions  to  carry  the  first  line 
and  lie  down.  By  a  swift  charge,  under  a  severe 
fire,  they  carried  the  line  at  the  foot  of  the  mount- 
ain ;  but  the  guns  of  the  Confederates  on  the  top  of 
Missionary  Ridge  sent  a  galling  fire  upon  them. 
Without  orders  one  impatient  regiment  after  an- 
other rushed  up  the  hill.  Bragg's  troops  made  a 
vigorous  resistance,  but  the  eager  assailants  carried  the 
line  in  six  places,  and  the  Confederate  army  was  forced 
to  retreat. 

Grant  was  now  put  in  command  of  all  the  Union  Sherman  against 
armies,  and  he  took  charge  in  person  of  the  troops  in  Saw  Mountain, 
front  of  Washington,  while  Sherman  was  left  to  com- 
mand the  Western  army.  Sherman,  a  man  of  incessant 
activity  and  ability  of  many  kinds,  was  confronted  by 
the  Confederate  general  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  succeed  Bragg.  Johnston  was  born 
in  Virginia  in  1807.  He  was  graduated  at  West  Point 
in  1829,  and  distinguished  himself  as  an  engineer  and  in 
active  service  during  the  Mexican  War.  He  resigned  in 
1861,  and  entered  the  Confederate  army,  where  he  always 
displayed  the  greatest  prudence  and  ability.  Sherman, 
by  skillful  manoeuvres,  tried  to  force  Johnston  to  fight 
in  the  open  field  ;  but  Johnston  preferred  to  draw  his 
antagonist  farther  south,  so  as  to  increase  the  diffi- 
culty of  supplying  his  army,  and  to  compel  Sherman  to 
attack  him  behind  breastworks.  Many  severe  engage- 


334 


Hood  succeeds 
Johnston.     Sher- 
man takes  At- 


HI STORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

ments  were  fought,  but  Johnston  avoided  a  general 
battle.     At  length  Sherman  attacked  Johnston  at 
Kenesaw  Mountain,   but   the    Confederates  re- 
pulsed him. 

The  Confederate  government,  dissatis- 
fied with  Johnston's  long  and  cau- 
tious, retreat  before  Sherman,  re- 
moved him,  and  General  Hood 
took  his  place.  Hood  be- 
lieved in  sharp  fighting, 
and  several  battles  took 
place  at  various  points 
about  Atlanta,  but  they 
generally  resulted  in  favor 
of  the  Union  army.  At  length,  Sherman  got  a  consid- 
erable part  of  his  force  south  of  Atlanta,  so  that  Hood 
was  compelled  to  abandon  that  city  or  be  shut  up  in  it. 


POINTS    OF 
THE   CAMPAIGN 
BETWEEN    NASH 
VILLE  AND  ATL/i 


CHAPTER   LVI. 

FROM  THE  WILDERNESS  TO  PETERSBURG. — THE  WAR  IN 
THE  VALLEY. 


IN  the  spring  of  1864  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  who  had 
taken  Vicksburg  and  won  the  battle  of  Chattanooga,  was 
put  in  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the  Union.  Grant 
was  born  in  Point  Pleasant,  Ohio,  April  27,  1822.  He 
spent  his  boyhood  on  a  farm.  In  1839  ne  was  appointed 
a  cadet  at  West  Point,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
about  the  middle  of  his  class  in  rank.  As  a  lieutenant  in 


FROM    THE    WILDERNESS   TO  PETERSBURG. 


335 


the  Mexican  War,  he  was  conspicuous  for  bravery,  tak- 
ing part  in  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  la  Palma, 
and  the  assault  on  Monterey.  He  also  took  part  in  the 
siege  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  the 
succeeding  battles  of  Scott's 
campaign.  He  resigned  from 
the  army  in  1854  and  en- 
gaged in  farming,  but  was 
not  successful.  When  the 
civil  war  broke  out  he  was  a 
clerk  in  the  leather-store  of 
his  father  in  Galena,  Illinois, 
on  a  small  salary.  He  then 
became  mustering  officer  for 
the  State  of  Illinois,  was  ap- 
pointed colonel  of  the  Twen- 
ty-first Regiment  from  that 
State,  and  thus  entered  on 
his  great  military  career. 

We  have  seen  that  Grant  left  Sherman  to  command  Grant  in  vir- 

ginia. 

in  the  West,  while  he  took  up  his  headquarters  with 
Meade  in  front  of  Washington.  The  veteran  Eastern 
armies  that  had  fought  so  long  against  each  other,  be- 
tween Washington  and  Richmond,  were  now  to  fight 
to  the  death,  each  under  the  most  famous  general  on  its 
side. 

Robert  Edward  Lee,  who  now  confronted  General  Robert  E.  Lee. 
Grant,  was  born  in  Virginia,  June  19,  1807.  He  was 
graduated  at  West  Point  in  1829,  second  in  his  class. 
He  distinguished  himself  as  an  engineer  in  the  siege  of 
Vera  Cruz.  He  was  for  three  years  in  command  of  the 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point.  When  his  own  State 


ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


336 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


of  Virginia  seceded,  he  thought  himself  bound  to  go 
with  it.  He  resigned  his  commission  on  the  2oth  of 
April,  1 86 1,  and  was  made  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Virginia  State  forces,  and  later  a  Confederate  general. 
To  his  great  ability  was  mostly  due  the  stubbornness 
of  the  struggle  carried  on  by  the  Confederates  between 
Richmond  and  Washington. 

Under  Grant  and  Meade,  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  moved  for- 
ward toward  Richmond.  It  en- 
countered Lee's  army  in  a  region 
of  dense  woods,  full  of  under- 
growth, known  as  "  The  Wilder- 
ness." Grant's  forces  were  much 
the  more  numerous,  for  by  this 
time  the  South,  which  had  put 
forth  nearly  its  whole  strength 
from  the  beginning,  was  becom- 
ing somewhat  exhausted.  On  the 
other  hand,  Lee  fought  behind  in- 
trenchments,  and,  in  changing  his 
Desperate  battles  position,  moved  on  shorter  lines  than  his  opponent.  For 

in   "The  Wilder-       . 

ness."  sixteen  days,  in  the  Wilderness  and  about  Spottsylvama 

Court-House,  the  armies  were  so  close  to  each  other  in 
the  thick  brush  that  the  men  had  to  be  continually  on 
guard,  and  so  they  got  little  chance  for  sleep.  When 
they  changed  positions,  the  marching  was  generally  done 
in  the  night,  while  the  days  witnessed  the  most  tremen- 
dous fighting  that  had  been  seen  since  the  battles  of 
the  great  Napoleon.  In  sixteen  days  the  Union  army 
lost  37,500  men,  and  Lee's  losses,  though  much  less, 
were  severe. 


ROBERT    E     LEE. 


FROM   THE   WILDERNESS    TO  PETERSBURG. 


337 


Lee  was  not  crushed,  but  Grant  got  nearer  to  Rich-  Manoeuvres, 
mond  from  time  to  time  by  secretly  moving  a  part  of 
the  army  from  his  right  and  marching  it  around  to 
the  rear  of  his  other  troops,  and  then  pushing  it  as  far 
ahead  on  his  left  as  possible.  By  thus  outflanking  Lee, 
Grant  compelled  him  to  fall  back,  that  he  might  not 
be  cut  off  from  Richmond  and  his  supplies.  But  Lee 
always  managed  to  fall  back  in  time  to  be  again  be- 
tween Grant's  army  and  Richmond.  The  two  great 
generals  and  the  two  veteran  armies  were  well  matched, 
and  neither  could  gain  a  complete  victory. 

This  fighting  and  this  moving  to  the  eastward  and  cold  Harbor, 
around   bee's  flank  were  kept  up  with  varying  success 
until   Grant   got   near   to    Richmond,  when,  on    the   2d 
of  June,    1864,  at   Cold    Harbor,  he   attacked   the   Con- 
federate works  along  the  whole  line. 
The    Union   army   was    repulsed   with 
a    loss  of  nearly  six  thousand  men  in 
an  hour. 

On  the  1 3th  of  June,  1864,  by  an- 
other rapid  march  to  ^he  left,  Gen- 
eral Grant's  army  began  to  cross  the 
James  River.  As  soon  as  over,  they 
made  an  attempt  to  capture  Peters- 
burg, in  order  to  cut  off  one  source 
of  supplies  and  re-enforcements  for 
Richmond.  The  outer  works  near 
Petersburg  were  carried,  but  the  Con- 
federates fell  back  to  new  lines,  and  received  re-enforce-  Attempt  to  take 

Petersburg. 

ments.      The   attempt   to   drive   them   out   of    these    by 
assault   failed.      The   Union   troops   now   built  trenches 
close  up  to  the  Confederate  works,  and  the  two  armies 
23 


338 


Explosion  of  the 
mine.  Attack  re- 
pulsed. 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


held  these  frowning  lines,  face  to  face,  for  nine  months, 
until  within  a  few  days  of  the  close  of  the  war. 

Soon  after  the  siege  began,  a  mine  was  dug  from 
the  trenches  of  the  Union  army  under  an  angle  of 
the  Confederate  works.  By  this  mine  a  part  of  the 
works  was  blown  up  on  the  3Oth  of  July.  An  attack 


was  made  immediately  after,  but  it  was  badly  man- 
aged, and  only  resulted  in  the  loss  of  a  great  many 
Union  soldiers. 

Hunter  marches          Jn  all  the  years  of  the  war  there  had  been  a  smaller 
and  tries  to  take    campaign  carried  on  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.     This  fer- 
tile valley  lies   between  two  ranges  of   mountains.     Its 
northern  end   reaches  the    Potomac  not  very  far  away 
from  Washington.     In  this  valley  the  Confederate  gen- 


FROM   THE    WILDERNESS   TO  PETERSBURG.         -^g 

eral  Breckinridge  defeated  General  Sigel  at  New  Mar- 
ket on  the  1 5th  of  May,  1864.  General  Hunter,  who 
took  command  of  the  Union  troops,  defeated  the  Confed- 
erate general  Imboden  at  Piedmont  twenty  days  later. 
Hunter,  with  eighteen  thousand  men,  pushed  for  Lynch- 
burg,  which  was  a  place  of  the  greatest  importance. 
He  destroyed  railroads  and  worked  much  damage,  but 
Lynchburg  was  re-enforced  in  time  to  save  it.  Finding 
his  retreat  down  the  Valley  cut  off,  Hunter  saved  his 
starving  army  by  making  his  way  into  the  Kanawha 
Valley.  This  took  him  to  the  west  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  and  quite  out  of  the  Valley. 

The  Valley  was  thus  left  open  to  Early,  who  marched   Early  marches 

'  *  down  the  Valley, 

a  Confederate  force  down  to  Harper's  Ferry  and  across  and  tries  to  take 

Washington. 

into  Maryland.  Early  defeated  a  small  force  under  Gen- 
eral Lew  Wallace  at  Monocacy  on  the  /th  of  July, 
and  pushed  straight  for  Washington,  which  he  might 
have  captured  at  a  dash  had  he  been  a  little  quicker ; 
but  re-enforcements  from  Grant's  army  marched 
into  the  works  as  the  assault  began,  and  he  was 
repulsed.  He  retreated  again  up  the  Valley,  pur- 
sued by  a  strong  force.  But,  when  a  part  of  the 
Union  troops  was  withdrawn  and  sent  back  to  Grant, 
Early  attacked  and  defeated  those  under  Crook  at  Kerns- 
town,  and  threw  his  cavalry  across  the  Potomac  again, 
and  into  Pennsylvania,  where  they  burned  Chambers- 
burg.  In  getting  back  into  Virginia,  this  cavalry  force 
was  attacked  and  defeated. 

General  Philip  H.  Sheridan  was  now  given  charge  of  Sheridan  in  the 

Valley.     Battles 

the  Union  troops  on  this  line.     Sheridan  was  for  a  long  at  Winchester 

.    ,  ,          ,  .and  Fisher's  Hill. 

time  very  wary,  determined  not  to  risk  a  battle  against 
an  experienced  general  like  Early  without  a  good  chance 


340 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


for  success.     When  Early 's  force  had  been  weakened  by 
the  sending  of  part  of  it  to  Petersburg,  Sheridan  attacked 
him  and  won  the  battle  of  Opequon,  or  Winchester,  on 
the  iQth  of  September,  1864.     Three   days   later,  Sheri- 
dan   attacked    Early   in    his    trenches    at    Fisher's    Hill, 
having  sent  a  force  around    to  suddenly  assail  him  on 
one   side    or   flank,  while  the   rest  of 
the  Union  troops  charged  the  works 
in   front.      Early 's    men,    attacked    on 
two    sides,  were    routed   and    driven 
farther  up  the  Valley  to  the  south. 

Sheridan  burned  all  the  barns 
filled  with  grain,  and  carried  off  all 
the  stock  in  the  Valley,  to  prevent  the 
Confederates  from  returning.  But 
when  Sheridan  went  back  toward  the 
Potomac,  Early,  largely  re-enforced, 
followed  him  through  this  land  of 
Destruction  in  the  starvation.  While  Sheridan  was  absent  from  his  troops, 

Valley.     Battle  of  '   r    T-       i     »      r  i  •  ,      i   •      T       i      • 

cedar  creek.  a  part  of  Early  s  force,  leaving  behind  their  swords,  can- 
teens, and  everything  that  could  make  a  noise,  moved 
in  the  night  along  a  lonely  path  until  they  got  around 
on  the  flank  and  behind  the  Union  troops,  and  surprised 
them  while  they  were  asleep.  Early,  at  the  same  time, 
with  the  rest  of  his  force,  attacked  Sheridan's  army  in 
front.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  battle  of  Cedar 
Creek.  The  Confederates  defeated  and  drove  back  the 
Union  troops  for  four  miles,  capturing  many  prisoners. 
Sheridan,  hearing  the  firing,  put  spurs  to  his  horse,  and 
rode  up  the  Valley,  calling  to  his  fleeing  soldiers,  "  Come, 
boys,  we're  going  back  !  "  His  presence  turned  the  tide, 
and  by  night  he  had  defeated  Early  once  more.  A  few 


PHILIP    H.    SHERIDAIv 


FROM   THE    WILDERNESS    TO  PETERSBURG. 


341 


smaller  actions  ended  the  campaign,  for  most  of  the 
troops  on  both  sides  were  needed  at  Petersburg,  where 
the  last  struggle  of  all  was  to  take  place. 

Philip  Henry  Sheridan,  who  decided  the  long  struggle  Sheridan- 
in  the  Valley,  was  a  native  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  was 
born  March  6,  1831.  He  was  graduated  at  West  Point 
in  1853.  He  first  won  distinction  as  a  commander  of 
cavalry,  and  he  showed  great  qualities  at  Perryville  and 
Murfreesboro,  after  which  he  was  made  a  major-general. 
At  Chickamauga  and  in  the  battles  about  Chattanooga 
he  further  distinguished  himself.  His  campaign  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  and  the  part  he  played  in  the  closing 
scenes  made  him  one  of  the  most  famous  generals  of 
the  war.  He  succeeded  Sherman  at  the  head  of  the 
army,  and  in  1888  he  was  made  a  full  general.  Only 
Grant  and  Sherman  had  attained  that  rank  in  the 
United  States  Army  before  him.  He  died  at  Nonquitt, 
Massachusetts,  August  5,  1888. 


342 


HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 


CHAPTER   LVII. 


Sherman's 
begun. 


Hood  in  Ten- 
nessee.    Battle 
of  Franklin. 


GENERAL    SCHOFIELD. 


Battle  of  Nash- 
ville. 


CLOSE    OF    THE    CIVIL    WAR. 

IN  Chapter  LV  we  have  seen  that  Sherman  capt- 
ured Atlanta,  having  in  opposition  to  him  the  Confeder- 
ate general  Hood.  The  latter  was  a  bold  man,  and  he 
determined  to  force  Sherman  to  fall  back  into  Tennessee 
again,  by  going  to  his  rear  and  cutting  off  his  supplies 
from  the  North.  But  Sherman,  knowing  that  the  re- 
sources of  the  South  were  almost  exhausted,  concluded 
to  risk  a  blow  that  might  end  the  war.  Leaving  the 
troops  in  Tennessee  under  command  of  General  Thomas, 
he  set  out  from  Atlanta  with  the  rest  of  his  army,  to 
march  southward  through  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy. 
Hood,  refusing  to  follow  Sherman  into  Georgia, 
pushed  northward  into  Tennessee,  resolved  to  strike 
Thomas  before  he  could  get  his  forces  together. 
He  attacked  a  part  of  General  Thomas's  troops, 
under  General  Schofield,  at  Franklin,  in  Tennessee. 
The  Confederates  made  the  most  desperate  charges, 
carrying,  at  first,  a  portion  of  the  Union  lines, 
but  Schofield  succeeded  in  holding  his  works 
long  enough  to  get  safely  across  the  Harpeth  River. 
He  then  fell  back  and  joined  Thomas  at  Nashville. 
Hood  soon  encamped  before  Nashville,  where,  after 
a  rather  long  delay,  he  was  attacked  on  the  morning 
of  December  i$th  by  Thomas's  whole  army.  A  two 
days'  battle  ensued,  which  resulted  in  the  utter  defeat 
of  Hood's  army.  This  was  a  blow  from  which  the  ex- 
hausted Confederacy  could  not  hope  to  recover. 


CLOSE   OF   THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


343 


While  Hood  and  Thomas  were  manoeuvring  in  Ten-  Sher 
nessee,  Sherman  and  his  army  were  marching  through  s°a^ 
the  Confederacy.  His  men  were  consuming  supplies 
that  would  otherwise  have  sustained  Lee  in  Richmond. 
Railroads  of  the  greatest  military  value  were  utterly 
destroyed,  by  making  fires  of  the  cross-ties  and  then 
heating  and  twisting  the  rails.  Nothing  could  have 
tended  more  to  bring  the  war  to  an  end  than  the 
breaking  of  the  railways,  on  which  food  and  soldiers 
must  be  moved.  Just  before  the  battle  of  Nashville 
was  fought,  Sherman  reached  Savannah  and  laid  siege  to 
it,  having  been  about  a  month  without  communication 
with  the  North.  On  the  2Oth  of  December  the  Con- 
federates evacuated  the  city,  and  Sherman  occupied  it. 

William  Tecumseh  Sherman, 
whose  capture  of  Atlanta  and 
march  to  the  sea  made  him  one  of 
the  most  illustrious  figures  of  the 
civil  war,  was  born  in  Ohio  in 
1820,  and  graduated  at  West  Point 
in  1840.  He  resigned  from  the  army 
in  1853,  and  engaged  in  the  banking 
business  in  San  Francisco.  Later  he 
practiced  law  in  Kansas.  When  the 
war  broke  out  he  was  superintend- 
ent of  the  military  academy  of  Lou- 
isiana. He  was  reappointed  to  the 
army  in  1861.  At  the  close  of  the 

war  he  was  next  in  rank  to  General  Grant,  and  he  became 
general  of  the  army  when  Grant  was  elected  President. 

In   order  to   give    Sherman,  when    he   should    move 
northward  from  Savannah,  a  new  base  of  supplies  from 


WILLIAM    TECUMSEH    SHERMAN. 


344 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Sherman's 
northward. 


Movements  about 
Petersburg. 


the  sea,  and  in  order  to  stop  blockade-running,  an  expedi- 
tion was  sent  to  capture  Wilmington,  in  North  Carolina. 
Fort  Fisher,  which  guarded  the  entrance  to  this  place, 
was  bombarded  by  a  fleet  and  then  carried  by  assault, 
on  January  15,  1865.  By  way  of  Wilmington,  General 
Schofield,  with  a  part  of  Thomas's  army  from  Tennes- 
see, now  pushed  up  to  Goldsboro,  in  North  Carolina,  to 
meet  Sherman  when  he  should 
reach  that  place. 

On  the  ist  of  February,  1865, 
Sherman's  tough  veterans   left 
Savannah  and  moved  north- 
ward through  the  Caro- 


SHERMAN'S    MARCH 

FROM    ATLANTA   TO 

RALEIGH. 


linas, 

in  rain  and 
through  over- 
flowing swamps. 
Columbia  was 
taken  and  burned.  The  Union  army  pushed  on  north- 
ward, General  Sherman  having  opposed  to  him  his  old 
antagonist,  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston.  Johnston  did 
not  give  battle  till  Sherman  had  reached  Averysboro,  in 
North  Carolina.  Here  the  Confederates  were  defeated  ; 
but  at  Bentonville,  on  the  igth  of  March,  Johnston  came 
near  to  defeating  one  column  of  Sherman's  army  before 
re-enforcements  could  reach  it. 

Sherman,  by  his  marches,  had  broken  to  pieces  the 
interior  lines  of  travel  in  the  Southern  States,  and  greatly 
added  to  the  troubles  of  Lee  in  Richmond.  Neither  re- 


CLOSE    OF   THE   CIVIL    WAR. 


345 


enforcements  nor  supplies  could  be  had  without  difficul- 
ty. The  Southern  people,  who  had  bravely  suffered  the 
greatest  hardships,  were  now  disheartened.  Lee  began 
to  consider  how  he  could  retreat.  But  Grant,  whose 
force  was  more  than  twice  as  large  as  Lee's,  moved 
Sheridan's  command  around  to  the  south  of  the  Con- 
federate works,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  prevent  the 
dwindling  Confederate  army  from  getting  away. 

Lee  was  everywhere  outnumbered,  and  his  men  were  Battle  of  Five 
beaten   and    captured,  especially  in   the    battle   of   Five  works  carried. 
Forks,  on  the  ist  of  April.     He  had  weakened  his  force 
in  front  of  Grant,  by  drawing  out  troops  to  keep  Sheri- 
dan from  cutting  the  railroads  that   brought   him  sup- 
plies, and,  while  the  battle  of   Five    Forks  was  taking 
place,  some  of  the  Confederate  works  at  Petersburg  were 
carried  by  assault,  and  others  were  taken  the  next  day. 

The  night  follow-    Lee's  retreat  and 
surrender,   April 

ing,  that  is,  the  2d  9, 1865. 
of  April,  Lee  began 
his      retreat      from 
Richmond.  His 

first  object  was  to 
reach  Danville,  Vir- 
ginia,  and    from    that    place    to    unite 
with  Johnston.      But,  finding  a  Union 
force   between   him   and    Danville,    his 
now    starving    army    was    turned    toward    Lynchburg. 
Sheridan's  cavalry  cut  him  of!  from  that  place,  and  on 
the   gth    of   April,    1865,    Lee   surrendered   his   army   to 
General  Grant,  at  Appomattox  Court-House. 

Johnston  could  make  no  stand  alone,  and  sixteen  days  £hr™l°" 
later  he  surrendered  to  General  Sherman.     The  smaller  war. 


.346  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

bodies  of  Confederate  troops  yielded  soon  after,  and 
the  four  terrible  years  of  war  were  at  last  ended.  The 
soldiers  on  both  sides  returned  to  their  homes.  No  war 
so  vast  had  ever  been  seen  in  modern  times,  and  no 
braver  men  had  ever  fought.  The  impressions  left  by 
the  sufferings  of  the  civil  war  have  produced  a  strong 
sentiment  in  favor  of  peace. 


CHAPTER    LVIII. 

TRAITS  AND   RESULTS   OF  THE  WAR. — DEATH   OF  LINCOLN. 

The  Trent  affair.         THE  war  led    to  some  complications  in  the  foreign 

Danger  of  war 

with  England.  relations  of  the  United  States.  Both  in  England  and 
France  there  were  statesmen  who  were  jealous  of  the 
rapid  growth  of  this  country.  They  were  afraid  that  the 
United  States  would  become  more  powerful  than  the 
European  nations,  and  they  would  have  been  pleased  to 
see  it  divided.  In  1861  this  hostile  feeling  in  England 
was  very  much  increased  by  what  is  called  "  the  Trent 
affair."  Mason  and  Slidell  were  sent  as  ambassadors  from 
the  Confederate  States — Mason  to  England,  and  Slidell 
to  France.  They  ran  the  blockade,  getting  out  of  the 
harbor  of  Charleston  during  a  dark  night,  and  reached 
Havana.  From  Havana  they  sailed  in  the  Trent,  an 
English  steamer.  Captain  Wilkes,  of  an  American  man- 
of-war,  stopped  the  Trent  and  took  Mason  and  Slidell 
from  it,  carrying  them  prisoners  to  the  United  States. 
This  act  produced  great  excitement  in  England,  arid 
for  a  while  war  seemed  imminent  between  the  two  coun- 


TRAITS  AND  RESULTS  OF   THE    WAR.  ^ 

tries.  But,  on  the  demand  of  Great  Britain,  the  United 
States  surrendered  the  ambassadors,  as  improperly  capt- 
ured. 

The  United  States  Navy  had  been  rapidly  enlarged  Blockade  of  th-s 

Southern  coast. 

after  the  war  began.  One  of  .its  principal  duties  was 
to  blockade  the  Southern  ports,  to  keep  the  Confed- 
erates from  getting  arms  and  other  supplies  from  for- 
eign countries.  Many  fast-sailing  English  ships  were 
engaged  in  running  this  blockade.  These,  by  the  law 
of  nations,  were  subject  to  capture  by  United  States 
vessels,  and  many  were  taken,  but  the  high  prices  paid 
for  the  commodities  that  were  got  in,  justified  the  risk. 
These  blockade-runners  generally  entered  the  Southern 
ports  at  night.  But,  when  the  chief  sea-ports  of  the 
South  were  captured  one  after  another  by  the  navy 
and  the  land-forces  of  the  Union,  blockade-running  was 
gradually  stopped,  and  the  South  experienced  greater 
and  greater  difficulty  in  clothing  an  army  and  in  find- 
ing materials  of  war. 

The  Confederate  government  could  not  get  much  of  ^ef?i"bVma V 
a  navy  afloat  from  ports  so   well  blockaded,  but  ships  "the  Alabama 

claims." 

were  built  in  England  and  secretly  sent  to  sea.  These 
received  Confederate  commissions,  and  almost  succeeded 
in  ruining  American  commerce.  The  most  famous  of 
these  ships,  called  the  "  Alabama,"  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Raphael  Semmes.  It  was  built  in  England,  and 
it  captured  in  all  sixty -seven  merchant  and  whaling  ships. 
In  a  fight  with  the  United  States  man-of-war  Kearsarge, 
the  Alabama  was  sunk  in  the  English  Channel,  June  19, 
1864.  After  the  war  the  United  States  set  up  claims 
against  the  British  government  on  account  of  the  dam- 
ages done  to  American  commerce  by  the  Alabama  and 


348 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


other  Confederate  cruisers  built  in  England.  The  "  Ala- 
bama claims,"  as  they  were  called,  after  years  of  discus- 
sion, were  submitted  to  a  court  of  arbitration  which  sat 
in  Geneva,  Switzerland,  in  1872,  and  condemned  Eng- 
land to  pay  to  the  United  States  $15,500,000. 

Action  of  France  Napoleon  III,  Emperor  of  the  French,  was  also  jeal- 
ous of  the  growth  of  the  United  States,  and  he  availed 
himself  of  the  civil  war  to  establish  the  Archduke 
Maximilian,  of  Austria,  as  Emperor  of  Mexico ;  but, 
after  the  close  of  the  war  in  this  country,  French  sup- 
port of  Maximilian  was  withdrawn,  and  the  empire  was 
overthrown  by  the  Mexican  people.  Powerful  ships 
were  built  in  France  for  the  Confederate  government, 
with  the  secret  countenance  of  the  emperor ;  but  the 
energetic  proceedings  of  John  Bigelow,  United  States 
minister  at  the  French  court,  prevented  all  of  them  from 
sailing  but  one,  and  this  got  away  so  near  to  the  close 
of  the  war  as  to  be  of  no  service. 

Legal-tender  The  expenses  of  the  war  can  never  be  fully  estimated. 

paper  money,  or 

"greenbacks."  The  United  States  Government  borrowed  money  on 
interest,  by  giving  bonds  to  pay  after  a  certain  number 
of  years.  A  large  part  of  this  debt  has  now  been  paid. 
But,  as  another  means  of  borrowing  money,  "  legal- 
tender  notes  "  were  issued  ;  that  is,  paper  bills,  which  by 
law  could  be  used  to  pay  debts  and  taxes,  instead  of 
coins.  These  legal-tender  notes  were  printed  on  a  pecul- 
iar green  paper,  and  got  the  name  of  "  greenbacks." 
When  a  great  number  of  them  had  been  issued,  and  the 
dangers  to  the  government  increased,  the  value  of  this 
paper  money  declined,  until  at  one  time  a  dollar  of  it 
was  really  worth  less  than  half  a  dollar.  However,  as 
the  greenbacks  were  by  law  good  for  the  payment  of 


Si 


II 


Si 
n 


II 


TRAITS  AND  RESULTS  OF    THE    WAR.  ^49 

debts,  they  were  used  instead  of  the  more  valuable  silver 
and  gold,  which  for  seventeen  years  disappeared  entirely 
from  general  use.  The  depreciation  in  the  value  of 
money  caused  a  great  apparent  rise  in  the  values  of  com- 
modities. Long  after  the  war  closed,  in  1879,  the  gov- 
ernment began  to  redeem  these  legal-tender  bills  in  silver 
and  gold.  This  was  called  "the  resumption  of  specie 
payments."  But  the  fact  that  gold  or  silver  was  to  be 
paid  for  them  had  made  greenbacks  by  this  time  worth 
as  much  as  coin,  and  people  generally  preferred  to  keep 
the  paper  money. 

The  Confederate  government  also  resorted  to  loans,  confederate 
some  of  which  were  based  on  a  pledge  of  the  cotton- 
crop  of  the  country.  But  the  bonds  became  almost 
valueless  as  the  future  of  the  Confederacy  grew  hope- 
less. A  great  deal  of  Confederate  legal-tender  money 
was  also  issued.  This  took  the  place  of  coin,  and  de- 
clined in  value  until  twenty  dollars  of  it  would  not  buy 
one  of  gold.  When  the  Confederacy  was  overthrown, 
this  money  became  of  no  value.  The  rapid  decline  in 
the  value  of  its  paper  money  was  one  of  the  greatest 
difficulties  the  Confederate  government  had  to  con- 
tend with  in  its  last  years.  To  pay  its  soldiers  and  to 
provide  materials  of  war,  the  Confederacy  could  only 
issue  paper  notes,  of  which  there  were  already  too 
many. 

To  avoid  confusion,  we  have  preferred  to  tell  the  story  second  election 

of  Lincoln,  1864. 

of  the  military  operations  of  the  war  without  mentioning 
the  political  affairs  of  the  time.  In  1864  the  Republican 
party  nominated  President  Lincoln  for  re-election,  and 
Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  a  Southern  Union  man, 
for  Vice-President.  The  Democratic  party  nominated 


350 


HISTORY  OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Assassi 
Preside 
coin,  18 


ation  of 

it  Lin- 


General  George  B.  McClellan,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed 
that  the  discouragement  of  the  Northern  people  with 
the  long  continuance  of  the  war  might  elect  McClel- 
lan. But  the  success  of  Sherman  in  taking  Atlanta, 
the  capture  of  the  forts  near  Mobile  by  the  fleet  under 
Farragut,  and  the  successes  of  the  Union  army  under 
Sheridan  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  removed  all  doubt 
about  the  result,  and  Lincoln  received  all  the  electoral 
votes  cast  except  those  of  Kentucky,  Delaware,  and 

New  Jersey. 

Lincoln  began  his  sec- 
ond term  of  office  in 
March,  1865,  while  Sherman 
was  marching  northward 
through  the  Carolinas,  and 
when  the  close  of  the  war 
was  already  in  sight.  When 
Lee  surrendered,  Lincoln's 
mind  was  already  revolv- 
ing plans  for  conciliating 
those  who  had  been  op- 
posed to  him,  and  for  re- 
storing the  government  at 
the  South.  But,  while  the 
President  was  sitting  with 
his  family  in  a  box  at  a  theatre  in  Washington,  John 
Wilkes  Booth,  one  of  a  band  of  conspirators,  approached 
him  from  behind  and  shot  him,  and  then  leaped  to  the 
stage,  crying,  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis ! "  which  means, 
"  Thus  always  with  tyrants,"  and  escaped.  Booth  was 
afterward  overtaken,  and  killed  in  resisting  arrest.  Lin- 
coln died  on  the  i$th  of  April,  the  day  after  he  was  shot. 


DEA  TH  OF  LINCOLN.  .,  -  j 

He  was  deeply  mourned,  because  he  had  shown  himself 
a  man  of  great  wisdom  and  goodness. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  in  Kentucky,  February  12,  Abraham 
1809.  His  father  removed  to  Indiana  when  he  was  a  lit- 
tle boy,  and  while  that  country  was  exceedingly  wild  and  • 
rough.  The  family  lived  in  a  half-faced  camp — that  is,  a 
cabin  with  one  side  left  out  and  the  fire  built  out-of-doors, 
in  front  of  the  open  side.  Abraham  endured  many  pri- 
vations, and  struggled  hard  to  get  an  education.  The 
schools  were  few  and  the  teachers  ignorant,  but  Lincoln 
trained  his  own  mind  by  carefully  thinking  out  every  sub- 
ject which  puzzled  him,  and  he  spent  his  spare  time  in 
reading.  He  worked  on  a  farm,  went  to  New  Orleans 
on  a  flat-boat,  was  clerk  in  a  country  store,  learned  and 
practiced  surveying,  and  then  studied  law.  He  served 
several  terms  in  the  Legislature  of  Illinois,  and  was  a 
member  of  Congress.  He  became  a  leading  lawyer  and 
politician  in  his  State,  and  gained  a  national  fame  by  a 
series  of  debates,  in  which  he  was  engaged  with  Senator 
Douglas  in  1858.  His  integrity,  his  moderation,  and  his 
strong  speeches  brought  him  the  nomination  of  President, 
and  the  rest  of  his  history  is  that  of  the  country. 

Lincoln's   assassination   was   regretted   at   the  South,  Release 

son  Davis. 

where  his  kindliness  was  coming  to  be  known,  and  where 
the  people  feared  that  his  death  might  lead  to  measures 
of  retaliation.  But  the  war  was  closed  without  acts  of 
revenge,  and  nobody  was  put  to  death  for  a  political 
offense.  Jefferson  Davis,  the  President  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, who  had  been  captured  in  Georgia  at  the  close  of 
the  war,  was  arraigned  before  a  court  on  a  charge  of 
high  treason.  He  was  confined  in  Fortress  Monroe  for 
two  years,  when  he  was  released  without  being  tried. 


•2^2  HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

CHAPTER    L1X. 

POLITICAL   EVENTS   SINCE   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

The  question  of  THE  war  settled  two  questions  long  debated  in  this 

State  independ- 

ence  settled.  country,  that  oi  otate  sovereignty  and  that  of  slavery. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  government  it  had  been  dis- 
puted whether  or  not  a  State  might  act  in  a  sovereign 
way  in  opposition  to  the  United  States  government. 
The  war  answered  "  No "  to  this  question.  Though 
there  are  yet,  and  perhaps  always  will  be,  differences  of 
opinion  regarding  the  distribution  of  power  between  the 
Federal  Government  and  the  government  of  the  several 
States,  it  is  generally  conceded  that  the  result  of  the  war 
definitely  settled  that  the  Union  of  States  is  not  a  com- 
pact which  may  be  broken  by  the  withdrawal  of  indi- 
vidual States ;  that  the  nation  is  to  be  regarded  as  one 
and  indivisible ;  and  that  laws  of  Congress  can  only  be 
annulled  by  judicial  decisions.  On  the  other  hand, 
recent  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  show  a  care  of  the  rights  of  the  several  States 
as  against  infringements  by  the  laws  or  courts  of  the 
United  States.  It  was  accident  and  the  jealousy  of  the 
colonies  toward  one  another  that  gave  us  this  nicely 
balanced  federal  system  ;  but  its  elasticity  and  its  recog- 
nition of  the  right  of  local  self-government  probably 
render  it  the  best  possible  for  a  people  spread  over  so 
wide  a  territory  and  living  under  conditions  so  dissimi- 
lar, and  so  jealous  of  personal  freedom. 

The  question  of  The  Emancipation  Proclamation  had  only  abolished 

slavery  disap- 
pears, slavery  in  those  States  and  districts  at  that  time  resist- 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  SINCE    THE   CIVIL    WAR.         ^r, 

ing  the  United  States  government.  But  the  thirteenth 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  which  was  adopted  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  ratified  in  December,  1865,  for- 
bade  slavery  in  all  parts  of  the  country  forever.  One  of 
the  first  effects  of  this  great  revolution  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  social  and  industrial  system  to  which  the 
Southern  States  had  been  accustomed  for  two  centuries. 
This  necessarily  entailed  a  great  deal  of  financial  loss  and 
personal  suffering,  with  some  social  disorder.  But  the  ul- 
timate benefits  of  the  change  are  now  almost  universally 
recognized.  To  the  unity  of  the  national  life  the  changer 
is  of  great  advantage.  The  question  of  slavery  was  a 
source  of  difficulty  and  division  from  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  until  its  disappearance.  It  is  not  likely  that 
any  new  question  will  ever  divide  the  people  on  sectional 
lines.  Since  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States, 
the  system  has  disappeared  from  every  civilized  nation. 

A  great  question  of  history  was  also  decided  by  the  But  one  great 

power  in  North 

war.  It  was  settled  that  the  heart  of  North  America  America, 
is  to  be  occupied  by  but  one  great  power.  Had  there 
been  more  than  one,  the  resources  of  the  people  might 
have  been  wasted  and  their  advancement  checked  by 
standing  armies,  and  wars  happening  from  time  to  time. 
Without  doubt  the  United  States  will  act  a  much  greater 
part  in  the  history  of  the  world  and  the  advancement  of 
civilization  than  its  fragments  could  have  done  if  broken 
apart  and  divided  by  international  jealousies. 

On  the  death  of  Lincoln,  Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice-  Andrew  Johnson, 

President. 

President,  succeeded  to  the  presidency.  There  soon 
grew  up  a  difference  between  Johnson  and  the  Republi- 
can Congress  in  regard  to  the  measures  to  be  adopted 
for  the  reconstruction  of  government  in  the  Southern 

24 


354 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


DREW  JOHNSON. 


States.      Congress    required,  among    other    things,  that 
every  State  which  had  seceded  should  admit  the  negroes 
to  vote,  before  the  representatives  of  the  State  should 
be  again  admitted  to  Congress.     President  Johnson 
held    that  the    States   had    not   lost   the   right   of 
representation  by  secession  and   war.      He  did 
not  think  that  Congress  had  a  right  to  refuse 
admission  to  lawfully  elected  representatives. 

The    difference  between  Johnson  and   Con- 
gress,  on   several    points    in   regard    to   recon- 
struction, resulted   in  an  effort  by  Congress  to 
limit  the  power  of   the   President  to  remove  offi- 
president  John-     cers.     The  Republicans  were  more  than  two  thirds  of 

son  impeached. 

each  House,  so  that  they  could  make  laws  in  spite  of 
the  veto  of  President  Johnson.  They  passed  a  law  for- 
bidding him  to  make  removals  from  office  except  by 
consent  of  the  Senate.  This  law  Johnson  refused  to 
obey.  The  House  of  Representatives  voted  to  impeach 
the  President ;  that  is,  to  bring  him  to  trial  in  order  to 
have  him  removed  as  unfit  to  hold  his  office.  Such  a 
charge  must  be  made  by  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  the  Senate  is  the  court  which  has  to  decide  the 
case.  As  less  than  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  voted  to 
remove  him,  Johnson  remained  in  office  to  the  end  of 
his  term. 
Grant  elected  jn  l868  General  Grant  was  elected  President,  as  the 

President,  1868. 

candidate  of  the  Republicans.  The  Democratic  candi- 
date was  Horatio  Seymour,  of  New  York.  The  election 
turned  on  the  dispute  over  measures  for  reconstructing 
the  Southern  States. 

During  Grant's  first  administration,  in   1870,  the  last 
of  the  States  that  had  belonged  to  the  Confederacy  com- 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  SINCE    THE   CIVIL    WAR.       .,„ 
plied  with  the  conditions  demanded  by  Congress.     All  The  »eccded 

States  readmit- 

the  States  were  now  represented  in  Congress  for  the  first  ted  to  congress. 

c«          i     f-^          i .  .        i  Negro  suffrage 

time  since  South  Carolina  had  seceded  in  1860.     In  this  established, 
same  year,  1870,  the  fifteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion was  ratified.     This  gave  to  the  negroes  the  right  to 
vote  in  every  State  in  the  Union. 

Various  causes  produced  in  the  South  disorder  and  Disorders  at  the 

South,  followed 

bad  government  ior  some  years,  but  these  are  too  much  by  prosperity, 
matters  of  recent  political  discussion  to  be  treated  his- 
torically. The  war,  too,  had  wasted  the  resources  of 
the  country  and  left  the  people  in  poverty.  A  better 
state  of  things  has  ensued,  and  the  Southern  people  have 
gradually  entered  on  a  career  of  peace  and  great  pros- 
perity. Under  the  old  social  system  of  the  South,  agri- 
culture was  almost  the  only  form  of  labor  profitable  ; 
but  since  the  war  cotton-mills  have  sprung  up,  and  iron 
manufactures  have  been  greatly  developed  in  the  South- 
ern States. 

In  1872  there  was  considerable  dissatisfaction  with  Grant  re-eiected. 
General  Grant's  administration  of  the  government,  and 
a  portion  of  the  Republicans  formed  a  new  party,  which 
they  called  the  "  Liberal  Republican "  party.  They 
nominated  Horace  Greeley  for  President.  The  Demo- 
cratic party  accepted  Greeley  as  its  candidate  also,  but 
Grant  was  re-elected  by  a  large  majority. 

In    1876   the   Republicans  nominated    Rutherford    B.  Disputed  election 

of  1876  decided  in 

Hayes,  of  Ohio,  for  President.  The  Democrats  nomi-  favor  of  Hayes, 
nated  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  of  New  York.  The  election  was 
a  close  one,  and  the  country  came  near  to  being  thrown 
into  a  distressing  confusion  by  the  condition  of  the  South- 
ern State  governments.  In  some  of  these  were  "  return- 
ing-boards,"  or  committees,  which  had  the  right  to 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


JTHERFORD    B. 


revise  the  election  returns, 

and  throw  out  such  as  they 

thought  had  been  affected 

by  fraud  or  violence.     By 

the   votes    cast,    Louisiana 

had    given   a    majority    for 

Tilden.     But  the   Republi- 

cans  claimed    that    certain 

districts   had    been  carried 

by     intimidating     the     ne- 

groes and  by  fraud.     The 

returns    from    these    were 

thrown  out  by  the  returning-board,  and  the  vote  of  the 

State  was   given   to    Hayes.     This   gave   a   majority  of 

one.      The    most   exciting   debates  ensued   in  Congress, 

which    had   finally  to   decide  the   matter.      As  the   Re- 

publicans had  a  majority  in  the  Senate  and  the  Demo- 

crats a  majority  in  the  House,  the  two  bodies  could  not 
agree.  The  question  was  at 
length  referred  to  fifteen  com- 
missioners, eight  of  whom 
voted  to  give  the  election  to 
Hayes. 

In  1880  General  Winfield  S. 
Hancock,  who  had  won  renown 
as  a  brilliant  division  command- 
er in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
was  nominated  for  President 
by  the  Democrats.  General 
James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio, 
whose  distinction  was  chiefly 
due  to  the  ability  he  had 


E8   A.   GARFIELD. 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  SINCE    THE   CIVIL    WAR. 


357 


CHESTER   A.   ARTHUR. 


shown  in  debate  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  was  nomi-  Election  of  Gar- 
nated  by  the  Republicans  and  elected.  Three  months  sassination,  m* 
after  President  Garfield  was  in- 
augurated, on  the  2d  of  July,  1881, 
he  was  shot  and  mortally  wound- 
ed by  a  disappointed  office-seeker. 
Garfield  lived  eighty  days  after  he 
was  shot,  and  died  on  September 
19,  1 88 1.  His  assassin  was  tried 
for  murder  and  hanged. 

Chester  A.  Arthur,  of  New 
York,  had  been  elected  as  Vice- 
President  when  Garfield  was 
chosen  President.  On  the  death  of 
Garfield,  Arthur  succeeded  to  the 

presidency,  and  filled  out  the  unexpired  term  for  which  Arthur-  p 
Garfield  had  been  elected,  according  to  the  Constitution. 

In     1884    the     Re-    Cleveland 
elected. 

publicans  nominated 
James  G.  Elaine  for 
President.  His  dis- 
tinction had  been 
gained  chiefly  as 
Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Represen- 
tatives and  Senator 
from  Maine.  The 
Democrats  nominat- 
ed Grover  Cleve- 
land, then  popular 
as  Governor  of  New 

GROVER   CLEVELAND.  York.          AftCr    3H    Utt- 


358 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


usually  severe  struggle,  remarkable  especially  for  its 
personalities  and  bitterness,  and  a  very  close  election, 
Cleveland  was  chosen.  The  Democratic  party  thus  re- 
turned to  power  for  the  first  time  since  the  election  of 
Lincoln  in  1860. 

The  question  of  The  question  which  has  most  agitated  politics  in 
Cleveland's  administration  has  been  that  of  the  tariff. 
Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  government  there  were 
two  opinions  on  this  subject.  One  class  of  statesmen 
has  maintained  that  American  manufactures  should  be 
protected  by  levying  high  duties  on  articles  made  abroad, 
in  order  that  the  American  market  may  be  kept  chiefly 
for  the  products  of  American  labor.  The  other  class 
maintains  that  high  protective  duties  are  unjust  to  the 
American  consumer,  and  of  little,  if  any,  benefit  to  the 
manufacturer.  They  hold  that  the  tariff  should  be  used 
chiefly  to  raise  the  money  needed  to  support  the  govern- 
ment. This  was  a  main  point  of  division  between  the 
Whigs  and  Democrats  before  the  civil  war.  The  ques- 
tion of  revising  the  tariff  has  again  become  the  most 
prominent  one  in  our  day. 

Tariff  debate  of  At  the  assembling  of  Congress  in  December,  1887,  the 
President  sent  to  that  body  a  message  remarkable  among 
documents  of  its  kind  in  that  it  was  wholly  confined  to 
the  discussion  of  a  reduction  of  the  tariff  on  account  of 
the  accumulation  of  money  in  the  treasury  from  excess  of 
revenue.  In  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of 
this  message,  a  bill  reducing  the  duties  on  certain  articles 
and  putting  other  articles  on  the  free  list  was  introduced 
to  the  House  by  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee.  Roger 
Q.  Mills,  of  Texas,  was  chairman  of  this  committee,  and 
the  bill  is  known  as  the  "  Mills  Bill."  It  passed  the  House 


POLITICAL  EVENTS  SINCE    THE   CIVIL    WAR.       359 

of  Representatives.  In  the  Senate  a  substitute  bill  was 
introduced  as  a  Republican  measure,  but,  after  the  long- 
est session  in  the  history  of  the  country,  Congress  ad- 
journed without  either  bill  having  become  a  law. 

Meantime  the  canvass  for  President  opened  in  June  Harrison  elected 
by  the   nomination  of    President  Cleveland   for  re-elec- 
tion.    The   Republicans   nominated   Benjamin    Harri- 
son,  of    Indiana.      The   canvass   was   free   from   per- 
sonalities, speakers  and  writers  confining  themselves 
mostly  to  the  discussion  of  questions  relating  to  the 
revenue.     Harrison  was  elected. 

Benjamin    Harrison  is  a  grandson  of  General 
William  H.  Harrison,  the  ninth  President.      He 
was  born  in  Ohio  in  1833.     He  entered  the  army 
at  the  outbreak  of   the  war  as  second  lieutenant, 
and    rose    to    the    rank   of    brigadier-general.      He    has 
since  been  a  United  States  Senator. 


CHAPTER    LX.. 

LATER    DEVELOPMENTS    OF    THE    COUNTRY. 

WE  have  seen  how  the  United  States,  which  was  at  Additions  of  ter- 
ritory before  the 
first  limited  by  the  Mississippi  River  on  the  west  and  by  civil  war. 

Florida  on  the  south,  received  before  the  civil  war  five 
additions  to  its  territory:  i.  The  old  French  province 
of  Louisiana,  a  vast  region  west  of  the  Mississippi.  2. 
The  "Oregon  Country,"  by  exploration  and  discovery. 
3.  Florida,  by  purchase  from  Spain.  4.  Texas,  by  the 
annexation  of  an  independent  republic,  once  a  part  of 


36o 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


Purchase  of 
Alaska,  1867. 


West  Virginia 
admitted,  1863; 
Nevada,  1864. 


Nebraska,   1867; 
Colorado,  1876. 


Mexico.      5.  The    Mexican  cessions   by  treaty  after  the 
war  with  Mexico. 

To  these  must  be  added  Alaska,  which  was  pur- 
chased from  Russia  in  1867  for  a  little  more  than  sev- 
en million  dol- 
lars ($7,200,000). 
This  is  the  only 
territory  we  have 
that  does  not  lie 
adjoining  to  the 
rest  of  the  coun- 
try. It  is  partly 
in  the  arctic  re- 
gions, but  the  cli- 
mate of  Alaska 
on  the  Pacific 

coast  is  not  severe.     The  killing  of  seals  for  their  furs 
is  the  chief  business  interest  in  Alaska. 

The  number  of  States  at  the  beginning  of  the  civil 
war  was  thirty-four.  By  1876,  the  hundredth  year  of 
the  American  Republic,  the  number  had  increased  to 
thirty-eight.  Two  States  had  been  admitted  during  the 
war.  The  people  of  the  western  part  of  Virginia  were 
mostly  on  the  side  of  the  Union.  This  part  of  the  State 
separated  itself  from  eastern  Virginia,  which  was  acting 
with  the  Confederacy.  It  obtained  admission  to  the 
Union  in  1863,  as  a  separate  State,  under  the  name  of 
West  Virginia.  Nevada,  just  east  of  California,  and  a 
part  of  the  territory  ceded  to  us  by  Mexico,  was  ad- 
mitted in  1864.  It  is  a  land  of  silver-mining. 

In  1867  Nebraska  was  admitted.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  fertile  of  farming  States.  In  the  centennial  year, 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  OF   THE   COUNTRY. 


361 


Colorado  came  into  the  Union.  This  State  lies  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region,  and  has  gold  and  silver  mines. 
Cattle-raising-  is  one  of  its  chief  industries. 

There  remain,  when  this  book  is  printed,  two  or  three  several  Ternto- 
Territories  with  population  enough  to  entitle  them  to  Admitted.  ° 
become  States.  Dakota  is  a  rich  wheat  country,  and 
is  waiting  to  be  admitted  as  a  whole  or  as  two  States. 
Washington  Territory  promises  soon  to  be  a  State,  and, 
when  it  shall  have  been  admitted,  all  the  Territories  on 
the  Pacific  coast  will  have  become  States.  Utah  has  also 
population  enough  for  a  State.  It  was  settled  by  people 
professing  the  Mormon  religion.  This  religion,  which 
was  founded  by  Joseph  Smith  in  western  New  York 
about  1830,  allows  the  practice  of  polygamy,  and  some 
of  the  Mormons  have  more  than  one  wife  apiece.  For 
this  reason,  Congress  has  hitherto  been  unwilling  to  ad- 
mit Utah  to  the  Union.  The  rest  of  the  Territories  are 
in  mountain-regions,  and  their  increase  in  population  is 
rather  slow.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  soon  after  the 
close  of  the  present  century  we  shall  have  about  fifty 
States  in  the  Union. 

The  settlement  of  the  Western  States  and  Territories  Later  Indian  war. 
has  brought  the  white  people  into  conflict  with  the  fierce  8acre  in  Minne- 
and  warlike   Indians   of   the  plains.     In  the  summer  of 
1862  the  eastern  bands  of  the  Sioux  nation  fell  suddenly 
upon  the  defenseless  settlements  of  Minnesota  and  killed 
nearly  five  hundred  people.     In  the  war  which  followed, 
the  Sioux  were  driven  out  of  the  State,  and  thirty-eight 
of  those  captured  were  convicted  of  murdering  women 
and  children,   and  hanged. 

Though  there  were  no  horses  in  America  when  the  custer  attacks 

the  Indians  in 

white  men  came,  the  Indians  of  the  plains  now  have  a  the  winter. 


362 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


race  of  small  ponies,  descended  from  horses  acquired 
long  ago  from  the  early  Spanish  conquerors  of  Mexico. 
The  Indians  of  the  plains  are  said  to  be  "  the  best  light 
cavalry  in  the  world."  They  were  in  the  habit  of 
committing  their  outrages  on  the  settlements  in 
the  summer,  when  there  was  grass  for  the  ponies. 
In  the  winter,  when  the  ponies  were  almost  starved, 
they  took  shelter  in  remote  valleys,  and  counted  them- 
selves safe  from  attack,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  the 
white  men  found  in  moving  wagon-trains.  But,  in  No- 
vember, 1868,  General  Sheridan  sent  General  Custer, 
after  the  snow  had  fallen,  to  attack  the  hostile  Indians 
in  their  villages.  Custer,  carrying  his  provisions  on 
mules,  followed  the  trail  of  a  war  party,  under  the  chief 
Black  Kettle,  to  their  town  on  the  Washita  River,  in 
the  Indian  Territory,  and  fell  upon  the  sleeping  savages 
at  daybreak,  defeating  them  with  great  slaughter. 
This  battle  terrified  and  subdued  the  Indians  of  the 
''"  Southern  plains,  who  no  longer  felt  safe  from  pun- 
ishment in  their  winter  retreats. 

But,  in  a  later  war  with  the  Sioux 
of    the    Northern    plains   in    1876, 
.     Custer,  having   attacked   a   force 
outnumbering    his   own,   was   sur- 
rounded and    killed,  with  all  the 
men   under   his    immediate   com- 
mand.     In  this  fight  the  Sioux 
were  led  by  Sitting  Bull.     The 
Indians  were  afterward  attacked 
by  fresh  troops  and    driven   into 
Canadian    territory.      They    have 
since  been  allowed  to  return. 


364 


HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


present  condition         There  have  been  other  Indian  wars.  but.  of  course, 

of  the  Indians. 

the  rash  tribes  are  always  worsted  in  the  long  run.  The 
bisons,  or  buffaloes,  which  roamed  as  far  eastward  as 
Virginia  in  1612,  were  also  the  main  support  of  the 
Indians  of  Kentucky  as  well  as  of  those  farther  west. 
But  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  these  creatures  that 
grazed  in  the  canebrakes  of  Kentucky  and  on  the  great 
open  plains  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  have  now  been 
exterminated  by  the  march  of  civilized  man.  The  old 
life  to  which  the  savages  were  so  much  attached  is  fast 
breaking  down.  All  the  hunting-grounds  will  soon 
be  occupied  by  farms,  mines,  and  cities.  There  is  noth- 
ing left  for  the  Indians  but  to  become  civilized  or  to 
perish.  Good  men  are  now  trying  to  protect  them  from 
wrong,  and  to  persuade  them  to  have  their  children 
taught  to  live  the  lives  of  civilized  people,  on  farms, 
owned  not  by  the  tribes,  but  by  individuals.  Many  In- 
dian children  are  taught  at  the  expense  of  the  govern- 
ment. Some  of  the  tribes  located  in  the  Indian  Terrkory 
have  attained  to  considerable  civilization. 


CHAPTER    LXI. 

POPULATION,    WEALTH,    AND    MODES    OF    LIVING. 

THE    first    census    was   taken   in    1790.      There 
were  then  less  than  four  million  people  (3,929,214). 
In  1880  there  were  over  fifty  million  (50,155,783). 
It  is  safe  to  estimate  that,  when  the  census  of  1890 
comes  to  be  added  up,  there  will  be  between  sixty  and 


PRESENT   FLAG. 


POPULATION,    WEALTH,   MODES  OF  LIVING. 


365 


seventy  million,  say  sixteen  or  seventeen  times  as  many  increase  of  popu- 
as  there  were  one  hundred   years   before.     The  popula- 
tion  of   this  country  is  already  much  larger  than  that 


THE    DARK    LINE   SHOWS   THE   WESTWARD    MOVEMENT   OF  THE  CENTER   OF   POPULATION    IN   THE    UNITED   STATES   SINCE    1790. 

of  any  of  the  nations  of  Europe  except  Russia.  It  is, 
perhaps,  safe  to  assume  that  before  the  close  of  the 
next  century  there  will  be  two  hundred  million  people 
in  the  United  States. 

The  increase  of  wealth  has  been  yet  more   remark-  increase  of 

wealth. 

able.  This  is  due  to  the  resources  of  the  country,  as 
well  as  to  the  enterprise  of  the  people.  Wheat  from 
the  rich  farms  of  the  great  interior  valley,  and  meat 
from  the  cattle-ranges  of  the  Western  States  and  Ter- 
ritories, are  sent  across  the  sea  in  vast  quantities.  Gold 
and  silver  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pa- 
cific coast,  petroleum  from  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  and  inexhaustible  supplies  of 
coal  and  iron  in  various  regions,  are  great  sources 
of  wealth.  Manufactures  of  many  kinds  also  enrich 
the  country.  The  United  States  is  already  the  wealth- 
iest of  the  nations. 

In  a  new  country  men  become  inventive,  because  they  Early  Ameri 

inventions. 

have  to  find  out  how  to  do  things  that  they  have  never 
seen  anybody  do  before.  Americans  are,  perhaps,  the 


366 


HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


most  ingenious  in  mechanics  of  any  people  in  the  world. 
Before  the  Revolution,  Thomas  Godfrey,  of  Philadelphia, 
invented  the  quadrant,  an  instrument  to  help  the  navi- 
gator to  find  his  whereabouts  at  sea.  About  the  same 
time  Franklin  invented  the  lightning-rod.  There  was  also 
a  valuable  machine  invented  in  South  Carolina  for  doing 
the  hard  labor  of  taking  the  hull  off  of  the  grains  of  rice. 
This  was  run  by  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  tide.  In 
the  middle  colonies  flour-mills  were  improved,  and  little 
elevating  machines  invented,  so  that  wheat  did  not  have 
to  be  carried  to  the  top  of  the  mill  on  a  man's  back. 
Whitney's  cot-  America  has  since  become  celebrated  for  what  are 

ton-gin. 

called  labor-saving  machines.  One  of  the  most  remark- 
able of  these  is  the  cotton-gin.  It  took  so  much  time  and 
toil  to  pick  the  seeds  out  of  cotton  that  only  small  quan- 
tities were  raised  for  home  use.  Long  before  the  Revo- 
lution, some  kind  of  a  "  gin  "  for  cleansing  the  cotton  of 
its  seed  had  been  invented,  but  it  was  neglected.  When, 
however,  machines  for  spinning  cotton  thread  and  weav- 
ing cotton  cloth  by  steam-power  were  invented  in  Eng- 
land, there  sprang  up  a  great  demand  for  raw  cotton.  In 
1794  Eli  Whitney  invented  a  "saw-gin"  for  taking  the 
seeds  out  of  cotton.  This  made  cotton-raising  profit- 
able, and  caused  the  Southern  States  to  grow  rapidly 
in  population  and  wealth.  After  the  invention  of  the 
gin,  indigo-culture  was  quite  driven  out  by  the  more 
profitable  cotton-raising, 
some  other  re-  The  cotton-gin  was  almost  the  first  of  a  great  familv 

markable  in- 
ventions, of  labor-saving  machines,  partly  or   wholly   invented  in 

this  country.  Reaping-  and  mowing-machines  were  first 
made  successful  by  American  inventors.  Thrashing- 
machines  were  improved  here.  All  the  agricultural 


POPULATION,    WEALTH,    MODES  OF  LIVING. 


367 


machines  now  used  have  practically  been  introduced  in 
the  last  fifty  years.  The  first  really  successful  sewing- 
machine  was  introduced  by  Elias  Howe  in  1845.  Morse's 
telegraph  came  into  use  at  about  the  same  time.  The 
telephone  is  a  recent  American  invention,  of  the  greatest 
utility.  The  phonograph,  which  at  first  was  regarded 
merely  as  a  curiosity,  now  bids  fair  to  be  very  useful. 
The  type-writer  is  another  invention  that  exerts  a  great 
influence  on  life. 

More  inventions  of  great  importance  have  been  made  change  made  by 
in  the  lifetime  of  people  now  living  than  in  all  the  ages 
before.     We  live  in  a  different  world  from  that  of  our 
forefathers,  who  had  only  saddle-horses  or  wagons  for 
land-conveyance,  and  slow-sailing  ships  or  row-boats 
for  water-journeys.     We  can  go  around  the  world 
in  a  great  deal  less  time  than  some  of   the  first       THE  PENNSYLVANIA  FIREPLACE, 

.  .,        ,  T->  1  1  A  •  INVENTED   BY    FRANKLIN. 

emigrants  took  to  sail  from  England  to  America. 
Our  ancestors  had  neither  kerosene-oil,  gas,  nor  elec- 
tric light.  Stoves  were  practically  unknown ;  for  warm- 
ing themselves  and 
cooking  their  food, 
people  in  old  times 
had  only  wood-fires 
in  wide,  open  fire- 
places, which  often 
chilled  the  room 
with  draughts  ot 
air  or  filled  it  with 
smoke.  They  card- 
ed, spun,  wove,  and 
dyed,  by  hand,  wool  or  flax  for  their  own  clothing.  Now 
steam  is  made  to  do  most  of  the  work  in  spinning  and 


OLD    FIREPLAC 


368 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


tem. 


weaving,  in  making  hats  and  shoes,  in  planing  boards, 
and  in  turning  wood.  Even  delicate  little  things  like 
watches  are  made  mostly  by  steam  machinery. 

The  factory  sys-  Out  of  the  use  of  machinery  has  grown  up  the  factory 
system,  which  gathers  working-people  into  towns  and 
sets  them  to  labor  together  in  factories.  Many  people 
are  able  in  this  way  to  contribute  to  the  making  of  an 
article,  each  doing  his  own  part.  This  saves  time,  and 
makes  each  man's  toil  more  productive.  The  building 
and  running  of  these  factories  require  a  great  deal  of 
money ;  so  that  manufacturing  is  now  carried  on  by  two 
classes :  First,  the  capitalists,  who  furnish  the  factory  and 
its  machines ;  second,  the  men  and  women  who  receive 
wages  and  do  the  labor.  This  has  led  to  great  discus- 
sions of  the  rights  of  the  working-people,  and  their  rela- 
tions to  those  who  furnish  the  money,  or  capital. 


CHAPTER    LXII. 

SCIENCE,    LITERATURE,   AND   ART   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES, 
scientific  pur-  SCIENCE  could  not   flourish  in  a  country   where   all 

suits  not  possible 

at  first.  things  were  new  and  rude,  and  where  the  work  neces- 

sary to  sustain  life  occupied  men's  entire  time.  Many 
of  the  first  comers  to  America  were  well  informed  in  the 
knowledge  of  their  day,  and  some  of  them  even  pos- 
sessed large  libraries ;  but  their  children  had  all  they 
could  do  to  maintain  themselves  and  get  the  simplest 
rudiments  of  education.  It  is  only  where  there  is  some 
leisure  that  people  have  time  to  observe  nature  and  to 


SCIENCE,   LITERATURE,   AND  ART.  ^g 

acquire  other  knowledge  than  that  which  is  useful  in  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  life.  But  the  study  of  science  was 
much  retarded  in  the  seventeenth  century — that  is,  at 
the  time  when  America  was  settled — by  the  violent  re- 
ligious controversies  and  sectarian  hatreds  with  which 
the  world  was  then  vexed.  The  minds  of  learned  men 
were  largely  engrossed  with  abstruse  speculations,  and 
with  efforts  to  prove  that  their  opponents  were  wrong 
on  questions  of  theology. 

Medicine  is  the  science  most  immediately  useful  and  The  study  and 

practice  of  medi- 

necessary  in  daily  life,  and  it  might  be  expected  to  cine, 
flourish  sooner  than  any  other.  But  at  the  time  of  the 
settlement  of  America  it  was,  like  other  branches  of 
knowledge,  darkened  by  ignorance  and  superstition. 
The  greater  part  of  medical  practice,  in  the  first  century 
and  a  half  after  the  settlement  of  the  colonies  was  begun, 
was  in  the  hands  of  ministers,  who  had  read  some  books 
of  physic  and  learned  how  to  compound  a  few  of  the 
mysterious  mixtures  of  the  time,  and  of  women  who  had 
picked  up  a  knowledge  of  remedies  of  one  sort  or  an- 
other. The  use  of  simple  medicines  and  some  other 
branches  of  the  art  of  healing  as  then  understood  had 
been  taught  to  women  in  the  convents  during  the  middle 
ages,  and  had  remained  a  branch  of  female  education  in 
many  families  in  England  down  to  the  time  of  the  set- 
tlement of  America.  In  the  colonies  medical  herbs  were 
grown  in  household  gardens,  and  some  women-doctors 
came  to  considerable  local  reputation.  There  were  also 
men  known  as  bone-setters,  who  reduced  fractures  and 
treated  other  injuries  successfully,  though  they  were 
without  any  surgical  knowledge  except  that  acquired 
by  experience.  Blood-letting  and  tooth -drawing  fell 
25 


.570  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

mostly    to   the   barbers,    who    were   also   surgeons   in    a 
small  way. 
Remedies  used  The  medicines  in  use  soon  after  the  settlement  of  the 

in  the  colonies. 

colonies  show  the  low  state  of  knowledge.  Learned  men 
prescribed  for  small-pox  the  powder  made  by  pulveriz- 
ing a  toad  after  it  had  been  burned  to  a  cinder.  Pills 
of  cotton  were  used  for  the  same  disease  and  others, 
and  silk-worms  dried  and  powdered  were  applied  to  the 
head  for  the  cure  of  various  complaints.  Grasshoppers 
used  in  the  same  way  cured  colic,  and  ants'  eggs  were 
considered  good  for  deafness.  Earwigs  boiled  in  oil 
were  recommended  for  the  hearing,  and  the  brains  of 
the  screech-owl  were  believed  excellent  for  headache. 
The  rattlesnake  was  thought  to  be  particularly  medici- 
nal. Its  skin  was  powdered  and  taken  internally.  The 
cast-off  skin  was  also  thought  to  be  beneficial  when  tied 
about  the  body.  The  oil  of  the  rattlesnake  was  an  ac- 
cepted cure  for  gout,  its  heart  was  used  medicinally,  and 
its  gall  was  given  in  balls  made  by  mixing  it  with  chalk. 
Tree-toads  were  worn  about  the  neck  in  little  bags  for 
some  diseases,  and  the  feet  of  turkey-buzzards  in  oil  were 
used  to  cure  rheumatism. 

Better  physi-  Jn  later  times,  as  wealth  and  intelligence  increased, 

the  number  of  educated  physicians  in  the  towns  was 
greatly  augmented.  The  most  of  these  had  attended  Eu- 
ropean medical  schools,  particularly  that  at  Edinburgh. 
Some  of  them  made  valuable  contributions  to  medical 
science.  But  even  the  greatest  of  these  doctors  were 
also  pharmacists,  keeping  "  shops  "  in  which  they  mixed 
and  sold  their  medicines. 

colonial  quacks.  In  a  new  country,  where  education  is  necessarily 
somewhat  neglected,  quacks  find  a  paradise,  and  in  the 


SCIENCE,    LITERATURE,    AND   ART.  *~l 

colonies  ignorant  pretenders  to  medical  knowledge 
swarmed,  as  a  writer  of  the  time  says,  "  like  locusts  in 
Egypt."  In  New  York  there  was  one  doctor  to  every 
fifty  families,  and  the  most  of  these  were  illiterate  char- 
latans. An  intelligent  writer  maintained  that  more  lives 
were  lost  in  New  York  by  pretended  physicians  than  by 
all  other  causes  whatever.  Quacks  traveled  from  colony 
to  colony,  frequenting  fairs  and  other  places  of  con- 
course, where  they  sold  their  plasters,  pills,  powders,  and 
elixirs,  by  proclaiming  their  virtues  from  platforms.  A 
man  who  chanced  to  be  the  seventh  son  in  a  family  was 
a  free-ordained  healer  of  scrofula  and  various  other  com- 
plaints. All  the  quackeries  known  in  England  were 
transplanted  to  this  country,  and  a  new  and  particu- 
larly American  sort  originated  here.  The  so-called 
"Indian  doctor,"  pretending  to  secrets  acquired 'from 
the  hugger-mugger  of  the  medicine-men,  began  to  flour- 
ish as  early  as  1712. 

The  study  of  botany  in  early  times  was  much  pro-  Early  botanist*, 
moted  by  the  desire  to  acquire  new  remedies  for  disease. 
In  America  many  of  the  diseases  were  new,  and  remedies 
for  them  were  sought  among  the  plants  of  the  country. 
It  could  not  be,  indeed,  that  intelligent  men  should  live 
in  a  new  continent,  full  of  plants  and  animals  hitherto  un- 
known, without  having  their  attention  attracted  to  the 
study  of  these.  There  arose  several  eminent  botanists 
among  the  colonists  in  this  country.  Such  were  Banis- 
ter and  Mitchell  in  Virginia,  and  such  was  John  Bar- 
tram,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  is  said  to  have  had  "a  pro- 
pensity to  botanies"  from  his  childhood. 

The  other  sciences  most  studied  in  the  colonies  were  Mathematician 

.        and  astronomer* 

perhaps  mathematics  and  astronomy,  to  which  the  writ-  in  the  colonies. 


HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


ings  of   Newton    had  given  a  great  impulse    about   the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Several  Americans 
constructed  orreries  to  show  the  motions  of  the  planets. 
Philadelphia  was  unquestionably  the  center  of  scientific 
.^^^       pursuits  in  America  during  the  last  century.      Here 
p^     lived  the  glazier  Thomas  Godfrey,  who  neglected  his 
trade  and  gave  his  days  and  nights  to  the  study  of 
mathematics  and  the  invention  of  the  quadrant,  to 
which  we  have  referred.    Here  lived  David  Ritten- 
house,  who  when  a  boy  had  covered  the  handle 
of  his  plow  and  the  fence-rails  about  the  field  in 
which  he  worked  with  mathematical  calculations, 
and   who  became  famous  as  an  astronomer.      There 
were  many  other  students  of  astronomy  and  chemistry 
in   Philadelphia,  but  the  center  of  this  group  was  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  who  was  interested  in  every  kind  of  in- 
tellectual pursuit  and  every  public  improvement. 

To  Franklin  was  due  the  founding  of  public  subscrip- 
tion libraries  in  the  colonies.  Books  in  that  day  were 
scarce  and  high  in  price,  and  magazines  of  the  kind  now 
made  were  unknown.  In  1731  Franklin  founded  the 
Philadelphia  Library.  This  was  imitated  in  other  towns 
in  the  colonies,  and  reading-rooms  became  fashionable. 
People  were  ashamed  to  be  without  knowledge  ;  and, 
having  few  public  amusements,  they  read  a  good  deal, 
so  that  the  "  common  tradesmen  and  farmers  "  in  Ameri- 
can towns  were  said  to  have  been  better  informed  than 
people  of  the  same  class  in  Europe.  Franklin  in  his  old 
age  attributes  in  some  degree  to  this  mental  awakening 
produced  by  public  libraries,  "  the  stand  made  through- 
out the  colonies  in  defense  of  their  privileges  "  during 
the  Revolution. 


Influence  of 
He  libraries. 


pub- 


SCIENCE,    LITERATURE,    AND   ART.  ^^ 

It  is  always  interesting  to  trace  a  stream  to  its  source,  Almanac  liters. 
and  to  see  the  great  river  where  it  is  born  in  a  little  rill. 
The  beginning  of  general  literature  in  this  country  can 
perhaps  be  traced  to  the  almanacs.  These  little  publica- 
tions, which  came  out  once  a  year,  managed  to  compass  a 
good  deal  within  their  small  space.  They  had  medical 
advice  along  with  directions  for  farming,  and  many  witty 
general  remarks.  Some  of  the  best  things  written  at  the 
time  were  printed  in  the  old  almanacs,  of  which  there 
were  many.  One  of  the  best  of  these  was  that  issued  by 
Nathaniel  Ames  in  Boston.  But  the  most  famous  and 
widely  known  of  any  was  the  one  that  Franklin  edited, 
for  twenty-five  years,  under  the  title  of  "  Poor  Richard's 
Almanac."  It  attained  at  one  time  a  circulation  of  ten 
thousand  copies,  which  was  extremely  large  in  a  country 
so  thinly  peopled. 

Franklin  is  perhaps  the  real  starting-point  of  Ameri-  writings  of 
can  literature.  As  he  was  the  first  American  scientific 
discoverer  of  renown,  the  first  American  diplomatist,  the 
founder  of  the  first  public  library  and  the  first  perma- 
nent philosophical  society  in  this  country,  so  he  was  the 
first  writer  in  the  field  of  general  literature.  His  writ- 
ings are  full  of  acute  thought  on  practical  themes,  and 
suited  to  the  genius  of  a  busy  people  engrossed  with 
their  outward  affairs. 


But  the  good  beginning:  made  by  Franklin  and  others  Jefferson. 

*  ton,  and  Madison. 

toward  an  American  literature  received  a  check  from  the 
excitements  which  preceded  the  Revolution  and  the  dis- 
cussions which  followed  the  establishment  of  a  new  na- 
tion. As  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  best  minds  in 
America  were  engrossed  by  religious  debates,  in  the  last 
half  of  the  eighteenth  'they  were  chiefly  occupied  with 


374 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Irving. 


WASHINGTON    IRVING. 


questions  of  state.  Besides  the  prac- 
tical writings  of  Franklin  and  the 
theological  speculations  of  the  great 
New  England  divine,  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards, almost  the  only  works  of  per- 
manent value  produced  during  the 
first  two  centuries  after  settlements 
in  the  present  United  States  began 
are  the  writings  of  Jefferson,  Hamil- 
ton, and  Madison,  on  political  sub- 
jects. 

Washington  Irving,  who  is  some- 
times called  the  father  of  American 
literature,  was  born  in  New  York  in 
1783.  His  first  important  work  was  a  burlesque,  called 
"  Knickerbocker's  History  of  New  York,"  in  which 
he  makes  much  sport  of  the  quaint  customs  of  the 
Dutch  founders  of  the  colony  of  New  Netherland.  The 
book  is  full  of  drollery,  and 
won  praise  for  its  author  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
But  Irving's  most  famous 
work  is  the  "  Sketch-Book," 
in  which  appear  the  charm- 
ing tales  of  "  Rip  Van 
Winkle"  and  "The  Legend 
of  Sleepy  Hollow."  His 
"  Life  of  Washington  "  is 
still  a  standard  biography, 
and  his  "  Life  of  Christopher 
Columbus"  is  the  best  popu- 
lar history  of  the  discoverer. 


CULLEN    BRYA 


SCIENCE,    LITERATURE,   AND  ART. 


375 


William   Cullen  Bryant,   born  in  western   Massachu-  Bry« 
setts  in  1794,  was  the  first  American  who  became  widely 
known  as  a  poet.     Though  he  lived  to  be  very  old,  his 
most  famous  poem,  "  Thanatopsis," 
was  written  when  he  was  not  yet 
nineteen    years    of    age,    and    his 
almost  equally  famous  "  Lines  to  a 
Waterfowl "  before  he  was  twenty. 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow, 
the  most  popular  and  the  most 
widely  celebrated  of  our  poets, 
was  born  in  Portland,  Maine,  in 
1807.  Of  his  shorter  pieces, 
"  Excelsior  "  and  "  The  Psalm  of 
Life  "  are  best  known.  His  "  Hia- 
watha "  is  an  epic  poem  of  Indian 
life,  and  his  "  Evangeline  "  is  a  nar- 
rative poem  founded  on  the  story 
of  the  expulsion  of  the  Acadians. 

John    Greenleaf    Whittier,   ^sometimes    called    "  the  ww 
Quaker  poet,"    was  born  in   Massachusetts  in  the  same 
year  with    Longfellow  (1807).      Many  of   his  poems  de- 
scribe   simple,    rural   life.      Others   relate   to   slavery 
and  the    civil  war.     One  of  the  most  charming  is- 
"  Snow-Bound,"  a  description  of  winter  scenes 
in  New  England,  written  in   1866. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  was  born  in  1809. 
He   is  famous  for  his  witty  poems,  of  which 
"  The  Last  Leaf "  and  "  The  One-Hoss  Shay  " 
are   two  of   the  best  known.     His   prose   work, 
"The    Autocrat    of    the     Breakfast -Table,"    is 
thought    to    be    one    of    the    brightest    books    in 


Stoddard 
Stedman. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

our  literature.     Holmes  probably  excels  every  other 
American  writer  far  wit. 

Edgar  Allan  Poe,  born  in  1809,  wrote  some 
poems  that  have  achieved  a  world-wide  fame. 
Of  these,  "  The  Raven  "  is  the  best  known.  His 
weird  and  marvelous  short  stories  have  also  a 
permanent  place  in  literature. 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  was  born  in  1803,  in 
Boston.  Some  of  his  poems  are  greatly  admired 
by  literary  readers  ;  they  can  hardly  be  called  popu- 
lar. He  is  more  widely  known  by  his  essays  as  a 
profound  thinker  and  a  writer  of  genius,  poetic  inspi- 
ration, and  rare  moral  aspirations. 

James  Russell  Lowell  was  born  in  1819.  He  is  best 
known  to  general  readers  by  his  poems  in  the  New 
England  dialect,  called  "  The  Biglow 
Papers."  Lowell  is  also  famous  for 
his  very  thoughtful  and  witty  essays, 
criticisms,  and  addresses. 

Whittier     and     Holmes     are     still 
(1888)  living  in  advanced  age.      Low- 
ell,   verging    on    seventy,   still    writes 
occasionally.     There  are  other  writers 
who  achieved  distinction  in  the  period 
before  the  war,  who  are  yet  engaged 
in    active    literary    production    when 
this  book  is  published.      The  time  to 
estimate    the    work    of   these   authors 
has    not    yet    arrived.      Perhaps    the 
nd    most  conspicuous  men  of  this  class  are  Richard  Henry 
Stoddard,    poet    and    critic,    born    in    Massachusetts    in 
1825,    and    Edmund    Clarence    Stedman,    born    in    Con- 


ALDO    EMERSON. 


SCIENCE,    LITERATURE,  AND  ART. 


377 


JAMES    FENIMORE   COOPEt- 


necticut  in  1833,  a  poet,  and  the 
author  of  "  Victorian  Poets,"  "  Po- 
ets of  America,"  and  other  works 
of  criticism. 

Two  American  writers  of  fiction 
in  the  period  before  the  civil  war 
attained  a  world-wide  fame.  James 
Fenimore  Cooper  was  born  in  New 
Jersey  in  1783.  His  novels  are  full 
of  action  and  adventure.  The  most 
famous  are  those  known  as  "  The 
Leather- Stocking  Tales."  A  very 
different  writer  is  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne, who  was  a  rare  genius,  and 
whose  stories  have  a  weird  and 

subtile    interest.      Of   these,    "The  Scarlet   Letter"  and  cooper  and 
"  The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables  "  are  general  favorites. 

William  Gilmore  Simms,  born  in  South  Carolina  in  simms. 
1806,  though  never  attaining  the  literary  finish  and 
quality  of  his  greater  contemporaries,  Cooper  and  Haw- 
thorne, is  yet  a  conspicuous  figure  in  our  literature  by 
reason  of  the  familiar  handling  of  old  Southern  life  in 
his  novels. 

Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  born  in  Connecticut  in  1812,  Mrs.  stowe. 
was  rendered   famous  by  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  of 
which   as   a   political   force    we    have   spoken   else- 
where.    But  some  of  her  stories  of  New  England 
life  were  enough  to  have  given  her  high  distinction. 

William    Hickling    Prescott,    born   in    1796, 
was  at  once  a  patient  scholar  and  a  most  brill- 
iant writer.     His  "  History  of  the  Reign  of  Fer- 
dinand   and     Isabella "    and    his    histories  of    the 


ATHANIEL    HAWTHORN 


378 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Scientific 
gators. 


JOHN    L.    MOTLEY. 


conquests  of  Mexico  and  Peru  are  as  fascinating 
as  brilliant  romances,  though  they  are  the  result 
of  the  most  patient  research,  conducted  by  one 
almost  blind.  George  Bancroft,  born  in  1800,  is 
less  elegant  in  style,  but  famous  for  the  great 
knowledge  of  his  subject  shown  in  his  "  History 
of  the  United  States."  John  Lothrop  Motley, 
born  in  1814,  wrote  several  works  on  Dutch  his- 
tory that  have  achieved  a  wide  reputation.  Fran- 
cis Parkman  has  taken  for  his  field 
the  French  settlements,  voyages,  and 
discoveries  in  North  America,  and 
his  several  histories  relating  to  parts 
of  this  great  theme  are  highly  es- 
teemed. 

A  number  of  Americans  eminent 
in  science  have  done  honor  to  this 
country  by  their  discoveries  and  writ- 
ings. Among  these  John  J.  Audubon, 
the  adventurous  naturalist,  and  Asa  Gray,  the  eminent 
systematic  botanist,  though  men  of  very  different  mold, 
are  alike  in  their  wide  and  permanent  fame.  Some  of 
our  greatest  men  of  science  are  still  in  active  service, 
and  any  attempt  to  distinguish  them  from  others 
would  be  out  of  place  here. 

Of  the  old  school  of  writers,  the  greater  number 
belonged    to    a    group    about    Boston,    which    in    the 
period    before    and    during   the    war    had    attained    a 
literary  activity    in   advance   of   that  of   the   rest  .of 
the    country.      The    writers   of    the    present    period 
are  much  more  widely  distributed  ;    the  intellectual 
life   of    our    time    is    much    more    pervasive.      Every 


H.     PRE8COTT. 


JOHN   J.    AUDUBON. 


SCIENCE,   LITERATURE,   AND  ART.  ^g 

great  natural  division  of  the  country  is  represented  in  Later  writer 
the  present  group  of  writers.     The  older  authors  were 
chiefly  poets  and  essayists  ;  those  of  to-day  give  them- 
selves more  to  works  of   fiction  and  humor.      The 
later  men  of  letters  now  in  active  service  are  zeal- 
ous students  of  our  own  life.      The  manners  and 
character  of  Americans  in  town  and  country  are 
described    with    fullness    in    recent    works    of 
fiction,   and   the   dialect  variations   and    folk- 
speech  of  almost  every  part  of  the   United 
States   have    been   studied    and    reproduced 
for  purposes  of  literary  art.      Many  of  the  older 
historians  preferred  foreign  themes  ;   the  historical 
writers   and    students   of   to-day   in   this   country   de- 
vote themselves  chiefly  to  exploring  the  history  of  the 
United  States.     These  changes  probably  mark  a  growth 
of  intellectual  independence. 

In  the  colonial  time  there  was  little  or  nothing  that  Eany  American 
could  be  called  American  art.     Several  portrait-painters 
of   ability   practiced    their   calling    in    America.      In 
the    last   century    three    artists   of    American    birth 
achieved  fame  in   England — Benjamin   West,  John 
Singleton  Copley,  and  Gilbert  Stuart. 

West    was    born    in    Pennsylvania   in    1738. 
Though   he  had   never  seen  a  picture   of  any 
sort,  he  made  a  drawing,  at  seven  years  of  age, 
in  red  and  black  ink,  of  a  sleeping  infant  whose 
cradle  he  had    been  set  to  watch.      His  mother 
was  delighted  with  this  mark  of  talent,  and  her 
praise    encouraged    West    to    continue    to    draw. 
He    covered    his    copy-book    with    drawings   of    birds,  Benjamin  we»t. 
flowers,  and  quadrupeds  before  he  had  learned  to  write. 


380 


HISTORY  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


JOHN   8.    COPLEY 


John  Singletc 
Copley. 


Gilbert  Stuart. 


GILBERT   STUART. 


When  missed  from  the  plow  one  day,  he  was  found 
under  a  bush,  where  he  had  sketched  from  memory 
portraits  of  every  member  of  the  family.  In  order  to 
get  colors,  he  learned  from  the  Indians  how  to  pre- 
pare the  red  and  yellow  colors  with  which  they  paint- 
ed their  faces  ;  to  these  he  added  blue  by  getting  indigo 
from  his  mother.  He  made  a  brush  of  hairs  from 
the  tail  of  the  house-cat.  As  there  was  small  chance 
for  an  artist  in  America,  he  settled  in  England, 
where  he  became  the  favorite  artist  of  the  king, 
and  the  President  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

Copley  was  born  in  Boston  in  1737.  He  early 
showed  talent,  and  practiced  the  only  art  for  which 
the  colonists  had  any  taste,  that  of  portrait-painting. 
He  sent  a  portrait  to  West  in  England,  and  its  merit 
gave  him  a  position  as  an  artist.  In  1774  he  went 
to  England,  where  the  rest  of  his  life  was  spent,  and 
where  he  achieved  fame  as  a  painter  of  portraits  and 
historical  pieces. 

Stuart,  who  was  probably  the  ablest  of  the  three, 
was  a  native  of  Rhode  Island.  He  went  to  England  in 
1775,  and  was  a  pupil  of  Benjamin  West.  In  1792 
he  returned  to  the  United  States,  \vith  a  particu- 
lar desire  to  paint  a  portrait  of  Washington.  He 
succeeded  in  making  several  of  these,  from  one  of 
which  the  portrait  of  Washington  given  in  this 
work  is  engraved.  Stuart  painted  many  ad- 
mirable portraits  in  America.  He  may  almost 
be  considered  the  father  of  American  art. 
The  conditions  of  our  life  were  formerly  unfavor- 
able to  the  production  of  a  school  of  painters  and  sculp- 
tors, but  there  has  been  a  large  advance  in  late  years. 


SCIENCE,    LITERATURE,    AND   ART.  38 1 

Artists  no  longer  have   to   leave  America   to  find  sup-  Later  artists, 
port   in   foreign    lands.      Some    very    notable   work   has 
been  done  in  several  departments  of  art,  but  it  is  yet 
too  soon  to  treat  historically  of  our  greatest  artists,  the 
most  of  whom  are  yet  living  and  working. 


INDEX. 


Abercromby.Gen.  James,  136;  defeat  of,  141. 

Abraham,  Heights  of,  137. 

Acadians,  expulsion  of  the,  132. 

Accessions  of  territory,  359. 

Adams,  John,  influence  of,  in  Continental 
Congress,  173 ;  death  of,  174,  222. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  sketch  of,  271. 

Adams,  Samuel,  sketch  of,  163,  214, 

Alabama,  admission  of,  to  the  Union,  266. 

Alabama,  the,  347. 

Alabama  claims,  347. 

Alamo,  battle  of  the,  285. 

Alaska,  360. 

Algiers,  war  with,  230. 

Alien  law,  225. 

Allen,  Ethan,  expedition  of,  167. 

Almanacs,  373. 

America,  discovery  of,  by  Columbus,  i  ; 
mistakes  in  regard  to,  3 ;  first  seen,  5  ; 
second,  third,  and  fourth  voyages  to,  6  ; 
visits  to,  previous  to  Columbus,  7  ;  visits 
to,  of  Americus  Vespucius,  8  ;  name  of, 
9  ;  discovery  of,  by  John  Cabot,  10 ;  visit- 
ed by  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  n  ;  by 
Vasco  da  Gama,  1 1  ;  still  thought  to  be 
part  of  Asia,  u  ;  suspected  of  not  being, 
12  ;  way  through  or  around  sought,  12 ; 
not  known  to  be  a  continent,  13  ;  colonies 
sent  to,  15  ;  free  government  begun  in, 
33  ;  French  and  Spaniards  in,  113-118. 

American  party,  the,  301. 

American  seamen,  courage  of,  253, 

American  troops,  character  of,  in  the  Mexi- 
can War,  287. 

Ames,  Nathaniel,  373. 

Amherst,  Jeffrey,  135. 

Amidas,  Captain,  leads  an  "expedition  to 
America,  15. 

Anderson,  Major  Robert,  308. 

Andre,  Major,  connection  of,  with  Arnold, 
187  ;  death  of,  187. 


Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  Governor,  150;  im- 
prisoning of,  167. 

Annawon,  capture  of,  83. 

Antietam,  battle  of,  322. 

Anti-Federalists,  214. 

Anti-Nebraska  party,  302. 

Appomattox,  345. 

Argall,  Pocahontas  stolen  by,  30  ;  character 
of,  as  governor,  33. 

Arkansas,  admitted  to  the  Union,  294 ;  se- 
cession of,  315. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  character  of,  186 ;  at 
battle  of  Bemis  Heights,  179;  treason  of, 
187  ;  escape  of,  187. 

Art,  American,  379,  et  seq. 

Arthur,  Chester  A.,  succeeds  to  the  presi- 
dency, 357. 

Asia,  spices  of,  i ;  stories  of  rich  cities  in, 
i ;  attempts  to  reach,  around  Africa,  a ; 
shorter  route  proposed  by  Columbus,  2,  3. 

Assembly,  clerk  of  Virginia,  punished  for 
betraying  secrets,  153. 

Astronomers,  colonial,  371. 

Atlanta,  capture  of,  334. 

Audubon,  John  J.,  378. 

Averysboro,  battle  of,  344, 

Bacon,  Nathaniel,  rebellion  of,  84;  char- 
acter of,  154,  156 ;  war  of,  with  Indians, 
155  ;  proclaimed  a  rebel,  155  ;  siege  of 
Jamestown  by,  155  ;  death  of,  156. 

Balance  of  power,  the,  300. 

Balboa  discovers  the  Pacific  Ocean,  12. 

Baltimore,  Lord  George  Calvert,  failure  of 
his  colonies  in  Newfoundland  and  Vir- 
ginia, 53;  receives  grant  of  Maryland, 
53 ;  death  of,  53 ;  his  son  plants  a  colony 
in  Maryland,  53-55. 

Baltimore,  Md.,  attack  on,  260;  United 
States  troops  attacked  in,  313. 

Baltimore  clippers,  254,  278. 


384 


INDEX. 


Bancroft,  George,  378. 

Banister,  John,  371. 

Barbary  pirates,  war  with,  229. 

Bargee,  238. 

Barlowe,  Capt.,  in  Ralegh's  expedition,  15. 

Barren  Hill,  182. 

Bartram,  John,  371. 

Battle  above  the  clouds,  the,  332. 

Bear-Flag  Republic,  the,  289. 

Beauregard,  General  P.  G.  T.,  313. 

Bell,  John,  nominated  for  President,  305. 

Bellomont,  Governor,  character  of,  151. 

Bennington,  battle  of,  179. 

Bentonville,  battle  of,  344. 

Berkeley,  Sir  William,  150  ;  connection 
with  Bacon's  rebellion,  153,  154 ;  flight 
°f>  T55  !  return  of,  156  ;  death  of,  156. 

Biddle,  Captain  Nicholas,  191. 

Bigelow,  John,  348. 

Black  Snake,  the,  219. 

Bladensburg,  battle  of,  260. 

Elaine,  James  G.,  357. 

Blockade,  347. 

Block-houses,  89 ;  illustration,  192. 

Bloody  Run,  fight  at,  with  Indians,  8. 

Blue  Jacket,  218. 

Boats  and  boatmen,  Western,  238. 

Bonaparte,  schemes  of,  239. 

Bond-servants  and  slaves,  104. 

Bonhomme  Richard,  the,  encounter  with 
the  Serapis,  191. 

Boone,  Daniel,  233,  234. 

Booth,  John  Wilkes,  350. 

Border  States,  condition  of,  312. 

Boston  Massacre,  163. 

Boston  Port  Bill,   165. 

Boston  Tea-party,  164. 

Botanists,  early,  371. 

Boundaries,  attempts  of  English  to  fix,  232. 

Bouquet,  General  Henry,  defeats  Indians  at  j 
Bushy  Run,  147. 

Bowling  Green,  175. 

Braddock,  General  Edward,  130,  131. 

Bragg,  General  Braxton,  327;  at  Chatta- 
nooga, 332 ;  at  Lookout  Mountain,  332. 

Brandywine,  battle  of  the,  180. 

Breckinridge,  John  C.,  nominated  for  Presi- 
dent, 305  ;  in  military  service,  339. 

Brewster,  Elder,  anecdote  of,  41. 

British  officers,  relations  of,  with  colonial 
soldiers,  140.- 


Brock,  General  Isaac,  decorates  Tecumseh, 
248. 

Brown,  General  Jacob,  259. 

Brown,  John,  raid  of,  305 ;  execution  of, 
305  ;  effect  of  his  raid  in  the  South,  305. 

Bruinsburg,  crossing  at,  of  Grant,  328. 

Bryant,  William  C.,  375. 

Buchanan,  James,  elected  President,  303; 
sketch  of,  304  ;  signs  Ostend  Manifesto, 
304  ;  attitude  toward  secession,  308. 

Buell,  General  D.  C.,  317. 

Buena  Vista,  battle  of,  287. 

Buffaloes  exterminated,  364. 

Bull  Run,  first  battle,  313  ;  second,  321. 

Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  168. 

Burgoyne,  General  John,  expedition  of,  178; 
defeated  at  Bennington,  179  ;  surrender 
of,  180. 

Burnet,  Governor,  character  of,  151. 

Burnside,  General  A.  E.,  placed  in  com- 
mand, 322. 

Burr,  Aaron,  217  ;  downfall  of,  241 ;  duel 
with  Hamilton,  241 ;  schemes  of,  242. 

Bushy  Run,  battle  of,  147. 

Cabinet,  first,  leaders  of  opposite  parties 
in,  217. 

Cabot,  John,  birth  of,  9;  his  journey  to 
Mecca,  9,  TO  ;  first  voyage  to  America, 
10 ;  called  the  Great  Admiral,  n. 

Cabot,  Sebastian,  voyage  with  his  father, 
John,  ii. 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  traits  and  doctrines  of, 
276.  307. 

California,  conquest  of,  288;  visited  by 
Spaniards,  289;  by  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
289  ;  Bear-Flag  Government  in,  289 ;  an- 
nexed to  United  States,  289 ;  admit- 
ted to  the  Union,  295  ;  admission  of, 
opposed,  298;  gold-mines  found  in, 
297. 

California,  Lower,  289. 

Calvert,  Leonard,  first  Governor  of  Mary- 
land, 53. 

Camden,  S.  C.,  battle  of,  184. 

Canada,  French  in,  116. 

Canadians,  fighting  of,  with  Indians,  221. 

Canals,  278. 

Cape  Cod,  named  by  Gosnold,  20. 

Cape  Horn,  voyage  around,  to  California, 
297. 


INDEX. 


385 


Capital  of  United  States,  removal  of,  224. 

Captives,  selling  of,  into  Canada  by  Indians, 
144,  145  ;  rescue  of,  146. 

Captivity,  results  of,  146. 

Carolinas,  proposed  constitution  of,  56 ; 
slow  growths  in,  57 ;  change  of  govern- 
ment, 57. 

Cartier,  Jacques,  voyages  of,  115. 

Casco  Bay,  fort,  attack  on,  122. 

Cass,  General  Lewis,  nominated  for  Presi- 
dent, 296. 

Cedar  Creek,  battle  of,  340. 

Central  America,  attempt  against,  by  fili- 
busters, 300. 

Cerro  Gordo,  battle  of,  290. 

Chambersburg  burned,  339. 

Champlain,  Samuel  de,  1 16. 

Chancellorsville,  battle  of,  322. 

Chapultepec,  storming  of,  291. 

Charles  II,  King,  land  grants  to  favorites, 
55.  157- 

Charleston,  removal  to,  of  Port  Royal  set- 
tlement, 56 ;  rebellion  in,  in  1719,  57  ;  tea 
destroyed  in,  164 ;  siege  of,  by  the  British, 
184;  fall  of,  184. 

Charter  Oak,  the,  157. 

Charter  of  Connecticut,  hiding  of,  157. 

Charter  of  Virginia,  the  great,  33,  34 ; 
stolen  by  Kemp,  36  ;  lost,  36. 

Chattanooga,  battles  at,  332 ;  siege  of, 
327- 

Chesapeake,  the,  253. 

Chickahominy  River,  320. 

Chickamauga,  battle  of,  331. 

"  Chief  who  never  Sleeps,  the,"  219. 

Church,  Captain  Benjamin,  82-84. 

Churubusco,  battle  of,  290. 

Cities,  life  in,  in  early  days,  211. 

Clark,  Captain,  explorations  of,  294. 

Clark,  General  George  Rogers,  exploits  of, 
in  the  West,  193. 

Clay,  Henry,  connection  with  Missouri  Com- 
promise, 268 ;  sketch  of,  275  ;  doctrines 
of,  276 ;  nominated  for  President,  283  ; 
advocates  the  Compromise  of  1850,  298. 

Clermont,  the,  278. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  elected  President,  358. 

Clinton,  George,  244. 

Clinton,  Governor  De  Witt,  builds  Erie  Ca- 
nal, 279. 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  retreat  of,  183. 


Cold  Harbor,  battle  of,  337. 

Colleges  in  the  young  republic,  207-209. 

Colonial  life  :  houses,  91  ;   furniture,  92 ; 
food  and  drink,  93  ;  dress  and  modes  of 
j      travel,  94 ;  schools,  95  ;  amusements,  96 ; 
I      modes  of  taking  game,  97. 

Colonial  methods  of  fighting,  139,  140. 
j  Colonies,  English,  proposed  in  America, 
14  ;  motives  for  planting  of,  20 ;  sending 
;  of,  by  Ralegh,  15-19 ;  attempt  to  plant, 
by  Gosnold,  20,  21  ;  planting  of,  by  Pil- 
grims, 37  ;  planting  of,  by  Puritans,  42- 
47  ;  planting  of,  by  Dutch,  47-52  ;  by  Lord 
Baltimore,  53-55  ;  in  the  Carolinas,  55- 
57 ;  planting  of,  by  Quakers,  59-62 ; 
planting  of,  by  Oglethorpe,  64-66  ;  sent 
by  the  Palatinate,  67  ;  existing  ones  set- 
tled in,  by  Irish,  French,  Germans,  and 
Scotch,  68  ;  government  of,  47.;  union 
of,  against  French  and  Indians,  122  ;  joy 
in,  over  fall  of  Canada,  139 ;  signals  used 
in,  90 ;  government  of,  148  ;  governors 
of,  150,  151  ;  aristocratic  feeling  in,  213; 
democratic  feeling  in,  213. 

Colored  men  in  War  of  1812,  262. 

Columbia  College,  216. 

Columbia  River,  discovery  of,  294. 

Columbia,  S.  C.,  344. 

Columbus,  Christopher,  sketch  of,  2 ;  pro- 
poses new  route  to  Asia,  is  deceived  by 
King  of  Portugal,  3  ;  courage  of,  4  ;  of- 
fers to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  4 ;  sails 
from  Spain,  5 ;  other  voyages  of,  6 ; 
death  of,  7. 

Commerce,  growth  of,  229, 

Company,  Virginia,  21-36. 

Compromise  period,  the,  275. 
j  Compromise  of  1850,  the,  298. 

Confederate  money,  349. 

Confederate  navy,  the,  347. 

Confederates,  seizure  of  forts  and  navy- 
yards  by,  313. 

Confederate  States  of  America,  the,  309. 

Confederation  formed,  195. 

Congress,  the  first,  165 ;  petition  of,  166 ; 
Continental,  168. 

Congress,  the  frigate,  324. 

Congress,  weakness  of,  at  first,  195. 

Constitution,  the,  of  the  United  States,  ef- 
fect upon,  of  the  Great  Charter  of  Vir- 
ginia, 34- 


386 


INDEX. 


Constitution,  the,  framed,  196  ;  fears  about, 

197 ;  adopted,   197 ;  explanation  of,  197, 

198. 

Constitution,  change  in  the,  228. 
Constitution,  the  frigate,   escapes  from  a 

British  squadron,  251  ;  captures  the  Guer- 

riere,  252;  nicknamed  "Old  Ironsides," 

253 ;  captures  the  Java,  252. 
Constitutional  Convention,  196. 
Constitutional  Union  party,  305. 
Continental  army,  171. 
Contreras,  battle  of,  290. ' 
Convict-servants,  106. 
Cooper,  James  F.,  377. 
Copley,  John  S.,  379,  380. 
Cordelling,  238. 
Corinth,  movement  toward,  317;  siege  of , 

3i8,  327- 

Cornbury,  Lord,  150. 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  177,   178;  surrender  of, 

189. 

Cotton-gin,  the,  366. 
Cotton  States,  the,  306. 
Council  of  estate,  the,  33. 
Cowpens,  battle  of  the,  188. 
Craven,  Governor,  85. 
Creek  Indians,  war  with,  261. 
"  Crimps,"  105. 
Croghan,  Major  George,  defense  of   Fort 

Stephenson  by,  256. 
Crook,  General  George,  339. 
Crown  Point,  capture  of,  133. 
Cuba,   attempts   to  purchase,    300 ;  secret 

expeditions  to,  300. 
Cumberland,  the,  324. 
Custer,  General  George  A.,  at  the  battle  of 

the  Washita,  362  ;  defeated  by  the  Sioux, 

362. 
Custom-houses,    colonial,     established    by 

English  law,  152. 
Cutler,  Rev.  Manasseh,  236. 
Cuttyhunk,    Island   of,    settlement   in  the, 


Dale,  Sir  Thomas,  made  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, 29  ;  return  to  England  of,  30  ;  di- 
vision of  land  by,  32. 

Dare,  Virginia,  first  white  child  born  in 
America,  19. 

Davenport,  John,  first  settlement  in  New 
Haven  by,  45. 


Davis,  Jefferson,  election  of,  to  the  presi- 
dency of  Southern  Confederacy,  309; 
sketch  of,  309 ;  released,  351. 

Dearborn,  General  Henry,  250. 

Decatur,  Stephen,  230 ;  commands  frigate 
United  States,  252. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  the,  171, 172, 
174. 

De  Kalb,  Baron,  181. 

Delaware,  crossings  of  the,  177. 

De  la  Warr,  Lord,  sent  with  supplies  to 
Jamestown,  28 ;  search  of,  for  gold,  29 ; 
sickness  of,  29 ;  departure  of,  29 ;  return 
of,  33 ;  death  of,  33. 

Democratic  party,  rise  of,  273,  274  ;  divis- 
ions of,  296,  305. 

Democratic  Republican  party,  215. 

De  Soto,  Hernando,  expedition  of,  1 14  ; 
death  and  burial,  114. 

Detroit,  surrender  of,  247. 

Dinwiddie,  Governor,  170. 

Directory,  the  French,  223. 

Discovery,  the,  21-25. 

District  of  Columbia,  the,  225 ;  slaves  in,  298. 

Domestic  animals  in  the  colonies,  101. 

Dongan,  Governor,  character  of,  151. 

' '  Don't  give  up  the  ship  !  "  253. 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  connection  of,  with 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  301 ;  nomination 
for  President,  305. 

Drake,  Sir  Francis,  carries  home  remnant 
of  first  colony,  18  ;  visits  California,  289. 

Dred  Scott  decision,  the,  304 ;  effect  of,  in 
the  North,  305. 

Dress  in  Washington's  time,  212. 

Dustin,  Hannah,  escape  of,  91. 

Dutch,  explorations  of  the,  49 ;  claims  of  the, 
49  ;  trading-post  of  the,  at  Albany,  49 ; 
settlements  of  the,  in  1623,  50 ;  settle  New 
Amsterdam,  50 ;  driven  from  Connecticut 
River,  50  ;  capture  posts  on  the  Delaware, 
50. 

Early,  General  Jubal  A.,  339. 
Eden,  Governor,  150. 
Education  in  the  new  republic,  206. 
Election,  presidential,  disputed,  355. 
Electors,  presidential,  229. 
Eliot,  John,  82. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  grants  Ralegh's  charter, 
15  ;  Virginia  named  in  honor  of,  16. 


INDEX. 


387 


Emancipation  Proclamation,  326. 

Embargo  of  1807,  243. 

Emerson,  Ralph  W.,  376. 

England,  troubles  with,  221. 

English,  the,  claims  of,  51 ;  conquest  over 

the  Dutch,  51  ;  capture  and  rename  New 

Amsterdam,  51-58. 
Era  of  good  feeling,  the,  269. 
Ericsson,  John,  324. 
Erie  Canal,  effect  of,  279. 
Essex,  the,  in  the  Pacific,  254. 

Fairfax,  Lord,  170. 

Fair  Oaks,  battle  of,  320. 

Fairs,  colonial,  98. 

Farmers,  life  among  the  early,  210. 

Farragut,  Admiral  David  G.,  326. 

Federal  city,  224. 

Federalists,  214,  215,  225,  227,  244 ;  opinions 
of,  306. 

Ferdinand,  King,  Columbus's  negotiations 
with,  4. 

Filibusters,  300. 

Fillmore,  Millard,  succeeds  to  the  presi- 
dency, 297  ;  nominated  for  President  by 
the  American  party,  303. 

Finances  of  the  United  States  government 
during  the  civil  war,  348. 

Fireplace,  Franklin's,  367. 

Fisher's  Hill,  battle  at,  340. 

Fishing  and  whaling  in  the  colonies,  102. 

Five  Forks,  battle  of,  345. 

Flag,  the  American,  261. 

Flax-spinning,  introduced  by  Irish  Protest- 
ants, 68. 

Fletcher,  Governor,  150. 

Florida,  114;  purchased  by  the  United 
States,  269. 

Foote,  Commodore  A.  H.,  at  Forts  Henry 
and  Donelson,  316. 

Forbes,  General,  135. 

Fort  Dearborn,  247. 

Fort  Detroit,  in  Pontiac's  conspiracy,  147. 

Fort  Duquesne,  fall  of,  135. 

Fort  Edward  captured,  179. 

Fort  Frontenac  captured,  135. 

Fort  Harrison,  248. 

Fort  McHenry,  261. 

Fort  Mackinaw,  247. 

Fort  Monroe,  319. 

Fort  Moultrie,  308. 


Fort  Pitt,  147. 

Fort  Stanwix,  relief  of,  179. 

Fort  Stephenson,  256. 

Fort  Sullivan,  defense  of,  184. 

Fort  Sumter,  effect  of  the  firing  on,  310. 

Fort  Ticonderoga,  defeat  of  the  English  at, 

136- 
Fort  Washington  captured  by  the  British, 

i?5- 

Fort  Wayne,  248. 

Fort  William  Henry,  capture  of,  133. 
France,   alliance  with,    182;   and  the  Jay 

treaty,  222 ;    action  of,  during  the  civil 

war,  348. 

Franklin,  battle  of,  342. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  connection  with  peace 

treaty,    189;   in   Constitutional   Conven- 
tion, 196,  207 ;  founds  a  library,  372  ;  his 

writings,  373. 
Franklin,  State  of,  265. 
Fredericksburg,  322. 
Free-Soil  party,  formation  of,  296  ;  vote  in 

1852,  299;    merged  in   the   Republican, 

302. 
Fremont,  General  John  C.,  286 ;  nominated 

for  President,  303. 
French,  explorations  of,  in  the  West,   1 16, 

117;   weakness    and    strength   of,    118; 

influence  of,  over  the  Indians,  118  ;  defeat 

of,  by  the  English,  136 ;   possessions  of, 

ceded  to  the  English,  139. 
French  Louisiana,  extent  of,  240. 
French  War,  causes  of,  119,  120  ;  influence 

of,  144- 

Frobisher,  Sir  Martin,  14. 
Frolic,  sloop  of  war,  captured,  252. 
Frontenac,  121. 
Fugitive-slave  law,  the,  298  ;  opposition  to, 

299- 
Fulton,  Robert,  278. 

Gage,  General,  sending  by,  of  troops  to 
Lexington  and  Concord,  166. 

Garfield,  James  A.,  wins  battle  of  Preston- 
burg,  315 ;  elected  President,  357 ;  shot, 
357 ;  death,  357. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  agitates  slavery 
question,  296. 

Gates,  General  Horatio,  defeat  of  Burgoyne 
by,  at  Bemis  Heights,  180 ;  defeated  at 
Camden,  S.  C.,  184. 


388 


INDEX. 


Gates,  Sir  Thomas,  appointed  Governor  of 
Virginia,  27  ;  wrecked  on  the  Bermudas, 
27  ;  reaches  Jamestown,  28. 

General  Assembly,  the  first,  in  Virginia,  33  ; 
influence  of,  36. 

George  III,  statue  of,  175. 

Georgia,  project  to  settle,  with  distressed 
English  people,  63  ;  Oglethorpe  attempts 
to  carry  out,  63 ;  schemes  fail,  65 ;  land 
laws  in,  66 ;  government  transferred  to 
the  king,  66 ;  General  Wayne  in,  219. 

German  immigration,  67. 

Germantown,  battle  of,  181. 

Gerrish,  Sarah,  captivity  of,  145. 

Gettysburg,  battle  of,  322. 

Ghent,  Treaty  of,  262. 

Gilbert,  Sir  Humphrey,  14. 

Gladwin,  Major,  147. 

Godfrey,  Thomas,  366,  372. 

Goldsboro,  344. 

Goliad,  massacre  at,  285. 

Good-speed,  the,  21. 

Gordon,  Captain,  232. 

Gosnold,  Bartholomew,  colony  brought  by, 
to  New  England  in  1602,  20 ;  colony  of, 
fails,  21 ;  forms  the  Virginia  Company, 
21. 

Government,  free,  begun  in  America,  33 ; 
effect  of  the  Great  Charter  of  Vir- 
ginia, 34. 

Government,  royal,  of  colonies,  148; 
charter,  149;  proprietary,  149;  weakness 
of,  during  the  Revolution,  192. 

Grant,  General  Ulysses  S.,  captures  Forts 
Henry  and  Donelson,  310 ;  captures 
Vicksburg,  328 ;  given  full  command  in 
the  West,  332  ;  of  all  the  Union  forces, 
333;  sketch  of,  334,  335;  elected  Presi- 
dent, 354 ;  re-elected,  355. 

Gray,  Asa,  378. 

Gray,  Captain,  expedition  of,  to  China, 
293  ;  entrance  of,  to  Oregon  River,  294. 

Greeley,  Horace,  355. 

Green,  Roger,  56. 

Greenbacks,  348. 

Greene,  General  Nathanael,  campaign  of, 
in  the  South,  188  ;  success  of,  189. 

Green  Mountain  Boys,  167,  264. 

Grenville,  Sir  Richard,  16. 

Guerriere  captured  by  Constitution,  252. 

Guilford  Court-House,  battle  of,  188. 


"  Hail  Columbia,"  224. 

Hale,  John  P. ,  299. 

Half-Moon,  the,  48. 

Hamilton,  General  Alexander,  216,  217. 

Hampton  Roads,  324. 

Hancock,  General  Winfield  S.,  356. 

Hardee,  General  W.  J.,  at  Missionary 
Ridge,  333- 

Hard  times,  the,  282. 

Harmer,  General  Josiah,  defeat  of,  218. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  elected  President,  359. 

Harrison,  General  William  Henry,  246; 
placed  in  command  of  the  Northwestern 
army,  255  ;  besieged  at  Fort  Meigs,  256  ; 
message  to  Proctor,  256;  address  to  his 
army,  258 ;  recaptures  Detroit,  258 ;  bat- 
tle of  the  Thames,  258 ;  sketch  of,  282 ; 
election  to  the  presidency,  282  ;  death, 
282. 

Harper's  Ferry,  339. 

Harpeth  River,  342. 

Harvard  College,  206,  213. 

Harvey,  Sir  John,  deposed  as  Governor  of 
Virginia,  153  ;  removed,  153. 

Havana,  346. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  107. 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  377. 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  declared  President, 
356. 

Hayti,  colony  planted  in,  during  Columbus's 
second  voyage,  6. 

Heating,  former  modes  of,  210. 

Hennepin,  Father,  117. 

Henry  VII,  King,  Bartholomew  Columbus 
sent  to,  9  ;  Cabot  sent  out  by,  10. 

Henry,  Patrick,  sketch  of,  161 ;  connec- 
tion of,  with  the  Revolution,  160,  161 ; 
speeches  of,  162  ;  death,  162  ;  men- 
tioned, 214. 

Herkimer,  General,  gallant  conduct  of,  at 
Oriskany,  179. 

Hessians,  the,  177. 

Holmes,  Oliver  W.,  375,  376. 

Hood,  General  John  B.,  succeeds  Johnston, 

334- 

Hooker,  General  Joseph  E. ,  succeeds  Burn- 
side,  322  ;  at  Lookout  Mountain,  332. 

Hooker,  Thomas,  first  settlements  in  Con- 
necticut, 45. 

Hopkins,  Esek,  190. 

House  of  Representatives,  198. 


INDEX. 


389 


Houston,  General  Sam,  sketch  of,  284 ; 
commander,  285 ;  President  of  Texas, 
285. 

Howard,  John,  232. 

Howe,  Admiral  Lord,  comes  to  America, 
175- 

Howe,  Elias,  367. 

Howe,  General  Sir  William,  commands 
British  army,  175  ;  enters  Philadelphia, 
181. 

Howe,  Lord,  character  of,  141 ;  reforms  of, 
in  army,  141 ;  relations  of,  with  Ameri- 
can officers,  141. 

Hudson,  Henry,  search  of,  for  China,  48 ; 
sails  up  the  Hudson  River  to  find  the 
East  Indies,  49 ;  looks  for  China  through 
Hudson  Bay,  49 ;  death  of,  49. 

Huguenots,  settlement  of,  in  South  Caro- 
lina, 56,  68;  in  Florida,  115. 

Hull,  Captain  Isaac,  251. 

Hull,  General  William,  surrenders  Detroit, 
247. 

Hunter,  General  David,  339. 

Hutchinson,  Ann,  founds  a  sect,  44. 

Illinois,  admission  of,  to  the  Union,  266. 

Imboden,  General,  339. 

Impressment  of  sailors,  243. 

Indiana,  admission  of,  to  the  Union,  266. 

Indians,  relations  of  settlers  with,  17-19, 
21,  23,  25-27,  29,  35,  36,  39,  40,  50,  54; 
life  of,  69;  clothing,  70;  adornments 
of,  70 ;  wampum,  70-72  ;  houses,  72 ; 
furniture,  73;  cooking,  73;  agriculture, 
74  ;  canoes,  75 ;  wars,  76  ;  trade  of,  with 
white  men,  77  ;  sale  of  New  York  by,  78  ; 
attempts  to  educate,  79 ;  massacres,  80 ; 
pass-words,  82  ;  weapons,  86,  87 ;  strata- 
gems, 88  ;  escape  of  captives  from,  90, 
91  ;  influence  of  the  French  over,  118 ; 
Six  Nations,  118;  wars,  modern,  361; 
in  War  of  1812,  248 ;  trouble  with,  in  the 
West,  217. 

Indigo,  culture  of,  in  the  colonies,  ico. 

Inscription  by  Boone,  233. 

"  Internal  improvements,"  274. 

Inventions,  American,  366. 

Iowa  admitted  to  the  Union,  295. 

Irving,  Washington,  374. 

Isabella,  Queen,  aids  Columbus,  4. 

Island  No.  10,  fall  of,  316. 


Jack  of  the  Feather  causes  a  massacre,  35. 

Jackson,  General  Andrew,  surrender  to,  of 
Weathersford,  262;  seizes  Pensacola. 
262  ;  elected  President,  272  ;  character  of, 
his  administration,  273. 

Jackson,  General  Thomas  J.,  319;  sketch 
of,  320. 

Jackson,  Miss.,  taking  of,  by  Grant,  328. 

James  I,  King,  tyranny  of,  resisted  in 
Parliament,  33;  destroys  Virginia  Com- 
pany, 36. 

Jamestown,  first  settlement  of,  by  Virginia 
Company,  22-27 ;  colony  of,  set  out  to 
return  to  England,  28  ;  brought  back 
to,  by  Lord  De  la  Warr,  28;  tobacccj 
successfully  raised  in,  31  ;  saved  by  Mr. 
Pace,  36. 

Jasper,  Sergeant  William,  defends  the  col- 
ors at  Fort  Sullivan,  184 ;  at  Savannah, 
185;  death,  185. 

Java,  the  frigate,  captured,  252. 

Jay,  John,  222. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  sketch  of,  172;  charac- 
ter, 173;  mentioned,  217;  elected  Presi- 
dent, 228  ;  dealings  of,  with  France,  239 ; 
embargo,  244. 

Jefferson  Republicans,  opinions  of,  306. 

Jennings,  rescue  of  captives  by,  146. 

Jersey,  East,  settlement  in,  of  Scotch  Pres- 
byterians, 58. 

Johnson,  Andrew,  349  ;  succeeds  to  the 
presidency,  353  ;  impeachment  of,  354. 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  133. 

Johnston,  General  Albert  Sidney,  317;  death 
of,  318. 

Johnston,  General  Joseph  E.,  313,  320  ; 
sketch  of,  333.  • 

Johnston,  Governor  Robert,  151. 

Joliet,  116. 

Jones,  John  Paul,  exploits  of,  during  the 
Revolution,  191. 

Kanawha  Valley,  339. 

Kansas,  bill  to  organize,  301  ;  collisions  in, 

302  ;  admission  of,  to  the  Union,  306. 
Kearny,  Colonel,  sent  to  New  Mexico,  288. 
Kearsarge,  the,  347. 
Keel-boat,  238. 
Kemp,  theft  of  the  Great  Charter  of  Virginia 

by,  .16. 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  battle  of,  334. 


390 


INDEX. 


Kentucky,  meaning  of  name,  217  ;  Boone 
settles  in,  233  ;  admission  of,  264  ;  early 
struggles  in  the  civil  war,  315 ;  invasion 
of,  by  Confederates,  327. 

Kernstown,  battle  at,  339. 

Key,  Francis  S.,  song  by,  261. 

Kidd,  Captain  William,  102. 

King  George's  War,  127. 

King  Philip's  War,  82  ;  his  death,  83. 

King's  College,  216. 

King  William's  War,  120. 

Knights  of  the  Golden  Horseshoe,  231. 

Know-nothing  party,  the,  301. 

La  Fayette,  Marquis  de,  sketch  of,  181 ;  as- 
sistance of,  182  ;  visit,  182 ;  death,  182. 

Lake  Champlain,  battle  on,  260. 

Lake  Erie,  Harrison's  expedition  to,  257  ; 
ships  built  for,  257  ;  battle  of,  257. 

Lake  George,  battle  of,  133 ;  saying  in  re- 
gard to  colonial  troops  at,  140. 

Lane,  Ralph,  charge  in  Virginia,  16 ;  tries 
to  find  Pacific  Ocean,  17  ;  carries  tobacco 
to  England,  18. 

La  Salle,  117. 

Lawrence,  Captain  James,  death  of,  253. 

Laws  and  usages  in  the  colonies,  108-110. 

Lederer,  expedition  of,  231. 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  320,  321 ;  sketch  of,  335. 

Legislatures,  colonial,  149 ;  character  of, 
150. 

Leif,  tradition  concerning,  in  Norway,  7. 

Leisler,  Captain  Jacob,  rebellion  of,  157; 
execution  of,  158. 

Lewis,  Captain,  expedition  of,  294. 

Lexington,  battle  of,  167. 

Lexington,  Missouri,  315. 

Leyden,  Pilgrims  bring  church  to,  37. 

Liberal-Republican  party,  the,  355. 

Libraries,  public,  372. 

Lighting,  former  modes  of,  209. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  elected  President,  306  ; 
inauguration  of,  309 ;  second  election  of, 
349  ;  assassination  of,  350  ;  sketch  of,  351. 

Literature  and  art  in  the  United  States,  368 
et  seq. 

Literature  of  the  new  republic,  207,  373  et 
seq.  ;  later,  379. 

Little  Turtle,  218. 

Livingston,  Robert  R.,  239 ;  declaration  by, 
240. 


Log-cabin  and  hard-cider  campaign,  282. 

Longfellow,  Henry  W. ,  375. 

Long  Island,  battle  of,  175. 

Lookout  Mountain,  332. 

Loudon,  Lord,  133. 

Louisbourg,  capture  of,  127;  return  of,  to 
the  French,  128 ;  second  siege  of,  133 ; 
capture,  135  ;  colonial  musketeers  at,  140. 

Louisiana,  117  ;  purchase  of  settlement  of, 
238-240 ;  admitted  to  ihe  Union,  265. 

Lovewell,  Captain,  fight  of,  with  the  In- 
dians, 144 ;  ballad  about,  144. 

Lowell,  James  R.,  376. 

Lucas,  Miss  Eliza,  100. 

Lundy's  Lane,  battle  of,  259. 

Lynchburg  threatened,  339. 

Lyon,  General  Nathaniel,  315. 

Macdonough,    Commodore,  victory  of,   on 

Lake  Champlain,  260. 
Macedonian,  the,  captured  by  the  United 

States,  252. 
Madison,  James,  election  of,  244 ;  character 

and  re-election  of,  248,  249. 
Madison,  Mrs.,  ensign  of  the  Macedonian 

presented  to,  252. 
Madoc,    Prince,    tradition    concerning,    in 

Wales,  7. 
Magellan,  Fernando,  sets  out  on  expedition 

around  the  world,  13  ;  death,  13. 
Magellan,  Strait  of,  first  entered  in  1520, 

13- 

Mails,  carrying  of,  in  early  days,  206. 
Maine,    first    settlement   in,    46 ;    made  a 

State,  46 ;   admission  of,   to  the  Union, 

266. 
Manassas,  battle  of,  313 ;  second  battle  of, 

321. 

Manassas,  the  fire-ram,  327. 
March  to  the  sea,  342. 
Marco  Polo,  birth  of,  i ;  visit  to  China,  i. 
Marie  Antoinette,  interest  of,  in  American 

Revolution,  236. 
Marietta,  236. 

Marion,  General  Francis,  185. 
Marshall,  Humphrey,  315. 
Maryland,  colony  planted  in,  by  Lord  Bal- 
timore, 53 ;    quarrels  between  Catholics 

and  Protestants,  54. 
Mason,  James  M.,  346. 
Mason,  John,  81. 


INDEX. 


391 


Massachusetts,  rapid  growth  of,  44 ;  perse- 
cutions in,  44,  45. 

Massachusetts  Company,  charter  of,  156. 

Massasoit,  chief,  friendly  relations  with,  40. 

Matamoros,  city  of,  in  Mexican  War,  286. 

Maumee,  Wayne's  victory  on  the,  219. 

Mayflower,  the,  39. 

Mayflower,  the  second,  236. 

McClellan,  General  George  B.,  put  in  com- 
mand of  the  army,  312  ;  sketch  of,  318, 
321,  322. 

McDowell,  General  Irvin,  313,  319. 

Meade,  General  George  G.,  succeeds  Hook- 
er, 322. 

Medicine,  early  practice  of,  369. 

Melendez,  115. 

Merrimac,  the,  324. 

Mexicans,  persistence  of,  288. 

Mexican  War,  differing  opinions  about,  292. 

Mexico,  city  of,  evacuated,  291. 

Mexico,  treaty  with,  291  ;  grounds  of  quar- 
rel with,  285,  286 ;  territory  acquired 
from,  292,  293. 

Michigan  admitted  to  the  Union,  295. 

Mill   Spring,  battle  of,  315. 

Mills,  Roger  Q.,  358. 

Minnesota  admitted  to  the  Union,  306. 

Minnesota,  the,  324. 

Minute-men,  the,  166. 

Missionaries,  Spanish  Catholic,  in  Cali- 
fornia, 289. 

Missionary  Ridge,  332. 

Mississippi,  admission  of,  to  the  Union, 
266. 

Mississippi,  descent  of  the,  232. 

Missouri,  debate  over  the  admission  of,  266  ; 
admitted  to  the  Union,  294 ;  in  the  civil 
war,  315;  compromise,  the,  268. 

Mitchell,  John,  371. 

Murfreesboro,  battle  of,  329. 

Muskingum  River,  settlement  on,  236. 

Mobile,  350. 

Modes  of  travel,  278. 

Molino  del  Rey,  battle  of,  290. 

Monitor,  the,  324,  325. 

Monmouth,  182. 

Monmouth,  battle  of,  183. 

Monocacy,  battle  of  the,  339. 

Monroe,  James,  239 ;  sketch  of,  269 ;  pov- 
erty and  death  of,  270. 

Monroe  doctrine,  the,  270. 


Montcalm,  133 ;  attack  on,   136 ;  death  of, 

138. 

Monterey,  capture  of,  286. 
Montgomery,  Confederate  capital  removed 

from,  313. 
Montgomery,  309. 

Montreal,  surrender  of,  to  the  English,  138. 
Morgan,  188. 
Morse,  S.  F.  B.,  280. 
"  Mother  of  Presidents,"  297. 
Motley,  John  L.,  378. 
Moultrie,  General,  184. 
Mystic,  battle  with  Indians  at,  81. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  peace  with,  224. 

Nashville,  battle  of,  342. 

National  Road,  the,  279. 

Navigation  laws,  the,  159. 

Navy,  American,  feats  of,  during  the  Revo- 
lution, 190,  191  ;  deeds  of  infant  Ameri- 
can, 230 ;  neglect  of,  in  the  War  of  1812, 
250  ;  faith  in,  of  its  officers,  250 ;  admira- 
tion of,  253. 

Navy,  British,  opinion  of,  in  1812,  250. 

Nebraska,  bill  to  organize,  301. 

Nebraska  Bill,  scope  of,  302. 

Negro  suffrage,  355. 

New  Albion,  California  called,  289. 

New  Hampshire,  settled,  46 ;  first  to  set  up  a 
State  government,  194  ;  grants,  the,  264. 

New  Jersey,  divided  into  East  and  West, 
58  ;  reunited,  62  ;  retreat  of  Washington 
across,  175. 

New  Madrid,  evacuation  of,  316. 

New  Market,  battle  at,  3#. 

New  Mexico,  conquest  of,  288 ;  organized 
as  free  territory,  299. 

New  Orleans,  Jackson's  victory  at,  262  ; 
captured  by  Farragut,  326. 

Newspapers  in  early  days,  206. 

New  York,  Americans  evacuate,  175. 

New  York,  college  in  the  early  days,  207. 

New  York,  claim  of,  264. 

Niagara,  the  ship,  257. 

Norfolk  Navy- Yard,  324. 

Norsemen,  adventures  and  discoveries  of,  7. 

North,  feeling  of  the,  about  slavery,  300; 
advantages  of  the,  in  the  war,  312. 

Northwest  passage  sought,  13. 

Northwest  Territory,  the,  235. 

"  No  taxation  without  representation,"  160. 


392 


INDEX. 


Nueces  River,  dispute  about  the,  286. 
Nullification,  307. 

Oglethorpe,  General  James  Edward,  war 
with  the  Spaniards,  127  ;  sketch  of, 
163. 

Ohio,  admission  of,  to  the  Union,  265 ; 
pioneers  of,  236. 

Ohio  River,  descent  of  the,  232. 

Okeechobee,  battle  of,  297. 

"Old  Hickory,"  272. 

"Old  Man  Eloquent,"  the,  272. 

"  Old  Thirteen,"  264. 

Opechankano,  chief,  house  built  for,  35  ; 
joins  in  plot  to  massacre  settlers,  35  ;  sec- 
ond plot,  80 ;  death,  80. 

Opequon,  battle  of,  340. 

Ordinance  of  Eighty-seven,  the,  235. 

Oregon,  discovery  of  the,  293,  294;  dis- 
pute about,  204 ;  admission  to  the  Union, 
306. 

Oriskany,  battle  of,  179. 

Ostend  Manifesto,  304. 

Otis,  James,  sketch  of,  160,  161 ;  giving 
watch-word  of  the  Revolution,  161. 

Pace,  life  saved  by  an  Indian  boy,  35  ;  saves 
Jamestown,  36. 

Pacific  Ocean,  discovery  of  the,  12. 

Pakenham,  Sir  Edward,  263. 

Palatines,  the,  67 ;  treatment  of,  in  New 
York,  67. 

Palo  Alto,  battle  of,  286. 

Parkman,  Francis,  378. 

Parliament,  the  English,  commercial  laws 
made  by,  151. 

Parsons'  Cause,  the,  161. 

Peace  Convention,  the,  307. 

Pea  Ridge,  battle  of,  315. 

Peninsula  campaign,  319. 

Penn,  William,  sketch  of,  59,  60 ;  Penn- 
sylvania granted  to,  60 ;  founded  Phila- 
delphia in  1681,  61 ;  rapid  growth  of  his 
colony,  62. 

Pensacola  captured,  262. 

Pequot  War,  the,  80. 

Periaugers,  278. 

Perry,  Commodore  Oliver  Hazard,  at  the 
battle  of  Lake  Erie,  257;  message  to 
Harrison,  258. 

Perryville,  battle  of,  327. 


Persecution,  ceasing  of,  113. 

Petersburg,  siege  of,  337,  338 ;  capture  of, 
345- 

Philadelphia,  loss  of  the  by,  Americans, 
181 ;  recovery  of,  183  ;  capital  at,  214. 

Philadelphia,  the  frigate,  230. 

Philippi,  battle  of,  312. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  opinions,  296. 

Phips,  Sir  William,  123. 

Pickett's  charge,  323. 

Piedmont,  battle  at,  339. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  sketch  of,  299 ;  elected 
President,  299 ;  favors  the  Nebraska  Bill, 
302. 

Pilgrims,  the,  distinction  from  Puritans,  37  ; 
fleeing  from  England  to  Holland,  37  ;  de- 
cide to  emigrate  to  escape  persecution,  37  ; 
departure  and  voyage,  39;  landing  at 
Plymouth,  39  ;  sufferings,  39  ;  dealings 
with  Indians,  40 ;  manner  of  holding 
meetings,  41  ;  defenses,  41  ;  property  in 
common,  41  ;  colony  united  with  Massa- 
chusetts, 42. 

Pioneers,  the  race  of,  232  ;  hardihood  of, 
234  ;  life  of,  236,  237. 

Pirates,  103  ;  of  Barbary,  war  with,  229. 

Pitt,  William,  134,  135  ;  his  order  relating 
to  American  officers,  140. 

Pittsburg  Landing,  battle  of,  317. 

Plattsburg,  battle  of,  260. 

Pocahontas,  stealing  of,  30 ;  baptism,  30 ; 
marriage,  30  ;  journey  to  England,  30 ; 
death,  30. 

Poe,  Edgar  A.,  376. 

Polk,  James  Knox,  elected  President,  283. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  expedition  of,  114. 

Pontiac's  conspiracy,  147. 

Pope,  General  John,  315,  316,  321. 

Population  of  the  United  States,  202,  268, 
364,  365- 

Porter,  Captain  David,  254. 

Port  Hudson,  surrender  of,  329. 
j  Potatoes  brought  by  Irish  Protestants,  68. 

Powhatan,  trouble  given  by,  to  Virginia, 
29  ;  peace  made  with,  30. 

Prescott,  William  H.,  377. 

President,  the,  powers  of,  198  ;  old  mode 
of  electing,  227. 

Press,  the,  freedom  of,  200. 

Prevost,  Sir  George,  259. 

Price,  General  Sterling,  315. 


INDEX. 


393 


Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  first  suggested 
discovery,  2. 

Prince  of  Orange,  effect  upon  the  colonists 
of  his  landing  in  England,  157. 

Princeton,  battle  of,  178. 

Princeton  College,  207. 

Privateers,  American,  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, 191 ;  in  the  War  of  1812,  254. 

Proclamation  of  Emancipation,  prelimina- 
ry, 325  ;  final,  326. 

Proctor,  General,  cruelty  of,  255  ;  siege  of 
Fort  Meigs  by,  255 ;  defeat  of,  at  Fort 
Stephenson,  256 ;  defeat  of,  at  the 
Thames,  258. 

Prophet,  the  Indian,  245  ;  at  Tippecanoe, 
246. 

Pulaski,  Count,  181,  184. 

Punishments,  colonial,  no. 

Puritans,  the,  peculiarities  of  their  faith,  42 ; 
origin  of  the  name,  42  ;  in  England,  form 
a  company,  43  ;  send  colony  to  America, 
43;  entire  company  of  emigrants,  43; 
make  Boston  their  capital,  43. 

Putnam,  General  Rufus,  236. 

Quakers  flee  from  England  to  West  Jer- 
sey, 59- 

Quebec,  116;  expeditions  against,  123;  fall 
of,  137- 

Queen  Anne's  War,  125,  126. 

Railroads,  introduction  of,  279 ;  improve- 
ments in,  280  ;  changes  produced  by,  281. 

Raisin,  battle  of  the  river,  255. 

Ralegh,  Sir  Walter,  sketch  of,  15,  16 ; 
names  Virginia,  16  ;  sends  colony  to  Ro- 
anoke  under  Ralph  Lane,  16,  17  ;  adopts 
use  of  tobacco  brought  to  England  by 
Lane,  18;  sends  colony  to  Roanoke  under 
John  White,  18,  19 ;  death  of,  19. 

Raleigh,  N.  C.,  march  to,  344. 

Rangers,  142. 

Rappahannock,  the,  322. 

Readmission  of  seceded  States,  355. 

Red  Eagle,  261. 

Redemptioners,  106. 

Religion,   freedom  of,   199;   controversies, 

369- 
Religious  denominations,  division  of,  by  the 

slavery  question,  305. 
"  Remember  the  River  Raisin  !  "  255. 


Republic,  life  in  the  new,  204-214. 

Republican  party,  the  early,  215  ;  sympathy 
of,  with  France,  216,  227 ;  called  Demo- 
cratic, 244  ;  (the  present  one)  organized, 
302. 

Resaca  de  la  Palma,  battle  of,  286. 

Revere,  Paul,  his  ride,  166. 

Revolution,  the,  causes  of,  159;  darkest 
period  of,  181. 

Rewards  for  scalps,  142. 

Rice,  Thomas,  89. 

Rice-culture  in  the  colonies,  99. 

Richmond,  Va.,  Confederate  capital  re- 
moved to,  313. 

Rich  Mountain,  battle  of,  313. 

Ride  and  tie,  205. 

Rio  Grande,  dispute  about,  286. 

Ripley,  General,  259. 

Rittenhouse,  David,  372. 

Roads,  condition  of,  in  early  days,  205. 

Robertson,  236. 

Robinson,  John,  37. 

Rochambeau,  189. 

"  Rock  of  Chickamauga,"  the,  332. 

Rogers,  Major  Robert,  daring  exploits  of, 
142,  143. 

Rogers's  slide,  143. 

Rolfe,  John,  marries  Pocahontas,  30 ;  cul- 
tivates tobacco,  31,  99. 

Rosecrans,  General  W.  S.,  at  Corinth,  327  ; 
succeeds  Buell,  331. 

Round  Head  wears  Tecumseh's  decoration, 
248. 

Sacramento  River,  gold  found  in,  297. 

St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  founding  of,  115. 

St.  Clair,  General  Arthur,  evacuates  Ticon- 
deroga,  179;  defeated,  219. 

Salem,  witchcraft  in,  112. 

Salmon  Falls,  attack  on,  122. 

Samoset  addres  es  Pilgrims  in  English,  40. 

Sandys,  Sir  Edwin,  character  of,  and  con- 
nection with  Great  Charter  of  Virginia, 

Santa  Anna,  war  with,  in  Mexico,  285  ;  at 

Cerro  Gordo,  290. 

Saratoga,  condition  of  fire-arms  at,  192. 
Sassacus,  81. 
Savannah,  Ga..  capture  of,  184;  captured 

in  the  civil  war,  343. 
Schenectady,  destruction  of,  iai,  122. 


394 


INDEX. 


Schofield,  General  John  M.,  343,  344. 

Schuyler,  Peter,  expedition  against  Canada, 
124 ;  carries  Mohawk  chief  to  England, 
125. 

Science,  study  of,  371,  378. 

Scott,  General  Winfield,  259;  in  Mexican 
War,  287 ;  expedition  to  Mexico,  290 ; 
sketch  of,  291 ;  candidate  for  President, 
209. 

Scrooby,  Pilgrim  church  at,  37. 

Secession,  ordinance  of,  passed  in  South 
Carolina,  307  ;  different  views  of,  311. 

Sedition  law,  225. 

Seminole  Indians,  war  against,  297. 

Semmes,  Captain  Raphael,  347. 

Senate,  the,  198. 

Serapis,  the,  191. 

Seven  Days'  battles,  321. 

Sevier,  John,  236. 

Sewing-machines,  367. 

Seymour,  Horatio,  354. 

Shannon,  the,  253. 

Sharpsburg,  Md.,  battle  near,  322. 

Sheridan,  General  Philip  H.,  sketch  of, 
341 ;  death,  341. 

Sherman,  General  \V.  T.,  commands  in  the 
West,  333 ;  sketch  of,  343. 

Shiloh,  battle  of,  317. 

Shirley,  Governor,  127. 

Sigel,  General  Franz,  339. 

Simms,  William  G.,  377. 

Skenesborough,  179. 

Slavery,  declared  illegal  in  Massachusetts, 
113;  the,  question,  266;  in  politics,  295, 
296  ;  effect  of  war  on,  352. 

Slaves,  introduction  of,  106;  character  of 
African,  107;  insurrections  of,  107;  In- 
dian, 108 ;  sold  to  Barbadoes,  83 ;  to 
West  Indies,  85  ;  bringing  of,  into  United 
States  forbidden,  267. 

Slave-trader,  the  first  English,  107. 

Slidell,  John,  346. 

Smith,  Captain  John,  sketch  of,  24 ;  capt- 
ured by  Indians,  25 ;  story  of  rescue  of, 
by  Pocahontas,  25 ;  exploration  by,  of 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  coast  north  of  Cape 
Cod,  26 ;  made  governor,  26 ;  map  by, 
referred  to,  39 ;  map  and  letters  sent  by, 
to  Henry  Hudson,  48. 

Smith,  James,  return  of,  from  Indian  cap- 
tivity, 146. 


i  Smuggling,  152. 

!  Soldiers  of  1812,  character  of  the,  249. 

South,   the,  traits  of,   in  early  days,  211 ; 
feeling  of,  about  slavery,  300 ;  advantages 
j      of,  in  the  war,  312. 

I  Southampton,   Earl  of,   character  of,   and 
j      connection  with  the    Great  Charter    of 
Virginia,  33. 

South  Carolina,  rebellion  of,  against  lords- 
proprietors,  158. 

Southwest,  discontent  in,  241. 

Spain  refuses  to  sell  Cuba,  300. 

Spaniards  in  Florida,  114,  127. 

Specie  payments,  resumption  of,  349. 

"  Spirits,"  105. 

Spotswood,  Governor,  character  of,  151, 
231. 

Spottsylvania  Court-House,  336. 

Squanto  teaches  settlers  to  plant  Indian 
corn,  40. 

"  Squatter  sovereignty,"  302. 

Stamp  Act,  the,  159;  repealed,  163. 

Standish,  Captain  Myles,  commands  Plym- 
outh Colony,  40  ;  attacks  the  Indians,  40 ; 
escorts  ministers,  41. 

Stark,  General  John,  defeats  the  British  at 
Bennington,  179. 

"Star-Spangled  Banner,"  song,  261. 

State  charters,  claims  of,  and  ceding  of,  to 
General  Government,  235. 

State-rights  doctrine,  the,  307. 

State  sovereignty,  effect  of  war  on,  35. 

States,  origin  of  the,  194  ;  early  relations  to 
one  another,  195  ;  claims,  195  ;  number 
of,  360 ;  new  ones  admitted,  360,  361. 

Steadman,  Edmund  C.,  377. 

Steamboats,  the  first,  278. 

Steuben,  Baron,  181. 

Stoddard,  Richard  H.,  376. 

Stone  River,  battle  of,  329. 

"  Stonewall "  Jackson,  sketch  of,  320. 

Stony  Point,  capture  of,  183 ;  storming  of, 
219. 

Stowe,  Harriet  B.,  377. 

Stuart,  Gilbert,  379,  380. 

Stuyvesant,  Peter,  50. 

Sumter,  Fort,  attack  on,  308. 

Sumter,  General  Thomas,  185. 

Supreme  Court,  the,  198. 

Surrender  of  Lee,  345  ;  of  Johnston,  345. 

Susan  Constant,  the,  21. 


INDEX. 


395 


Swamp-fight,  the,  82. 

"  Swamp-Fox,"  the,  185,  186. 

Swedes,  colony  of,  on  Delaware  River,  50. 

Tariff  question,  the,  358. 

Tarleton,  Colonel  Banastre,  188. 

Taxes,  opposition  to,  164. 

Taylor,  General  Zachary,  248 ;  in  the  Mexi- 
can War,  286 ;  sketch  of,  297 ;  elected 
President,  296. 

Teach,  Edward,  103. 

Tecumseh,  claim  of,  245  ;  confederacy  of, 
245  ;  battle  with,  246 ;  as  British  briga- 
dier-genera), 248  ;  at  the  siege  of  Fort 
Meigs,  255  ;  death,  258. 

Telegraph,  the  electric,  invention  of,  280 ; 
first  line  of,  281  ;  changes  produced  by, 
281,  367. 

Tennessee,  admission  of,  into  the  Union, 
265  ;  the  war  in,  329. 

Terrapin  policy,  •>'\\, 

Territories,  question  of  slavery  in  the,  295  ; 
settlement  of  the,  361. 

Texas,  proposed  annexation  of,  284  ;  revo- 
lution in,  285  ;  admitted  to  the  Union, 
285  ;  boundary  disputed,  286 ;  political 
result  of  annexation,  295. 

Thames,  battle  of  the,  258. 

Thomas,  General  George  H.,  315  ,  at  Mur- 
freesboro,  331 ;  at  Chickamauga,  332. 

Thoroughfare  Gap,  321. 

Ticonderoga,  defeat  of  the  English  at,  136 ; 
surrender  of,  to  Ethan  Allen,  168,  169  ; 
evacuation  of,  by  General  St.  Clair,  179. 

Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  355. 

Tippecanoe,  the  battle  of,  246. 

Titles,  questions  about,  214. 

Tobacco,  brought  into  England,  18 ;  thought 
medicinal,  18  ;  called  a  "  weed," 31  ;  used 
for  money,  31,  99 ;  pipes  for,  made  of  nut- 
shells and  straws,  18. 

Trade  of  colonial  cities,  102. 

Traveling,  early  modes  of,  204,  205. 

Treaty  of  Paris,  189 ;  with  Mexico,  291. 

Trent  affair,  the,  346. 

Trenton,  battle  of,  177. 

Tribute,  abolition  of,  230. 

Tripoli,  Pasha  of,  229. 

Tyler,  John,  administration  of,  283 ;  Presi- 
dent of  the  Peace  Convention,  307. 

Type-writer,  the,  367. 


"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  effect  of,  300. 
United  States  of  America,  172  ;  growth  of, 

after  War  of  1812,  266. 
United   States,  the    frigate,    captures    the 

Macedonian,  252. 

Valley  Forge,  winter-quarters  at,  181. 
\  Valley  of  Virginia  in  the  civil  war,  319. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  sketch  of,  276  ;  elected 

President,  277  ;  connection  of,  with  hard 

|      times,  282;    renominated  and  defeated, 

!    296. 

Van  Dorn,  General  Earl,  attacks  Corinth, 
327- 

Vasco  da  Gama,  expedition  of,  1 1 . 

Vera  Cruz,  army  landed  at,  289  ;  captured, 
290. 

Vermont  admitted  to  the  Union,  263. 

Verrazano,  voyage  and  claim  of,  115. 

Vespucius,  Americus,  birth  of,  8 ;  voyages 
of,  to  South  America,  8 ;  descriptions  of 
country  by,  8 ;  name  wrongly  bestowed, 
8,9- 

Vicksburg,  316. 

Victoria,  the,  first  voyage  around  the  world 
i      made  by,  13. 
:  Vincennes,  capture  of,  193. 

Virginia,  early  English  name  for  the  whole 
coast  of  North  America,  16 ;  first  settle- 
ment in,  16,  17 ;  second,  18,  19 ;  first 
white  child  born  in,  19  ;  third  colony  to, 
20-32 ;  Great  Charter  in,  32,  33  ;  com- 
munity of  life  in,  32  ;  division  of  land  in, 
34 ;  sending  of  women  to,  34 ;  Indian 
troubles  in,  35  ;  Company  of,  dissolved, 
36 ;  further  division  of  land  in,  52. 

Virginia,  the,  324. 

Wagons,  Conestoga,  205. 
,  Walker,    William,     expeditions    of,     and 
death,  300. 

Wallace,  General  Lew,  339. 

War  of  1812,  causes  of,  242,  243  ;  declared, 
246 ;  pioneers  of,  254. 

Washington,  George,  embassy  of,  to  the 
French,  128  ;  connection  with  Braddock, 
130-132  ;  sketch  of,  169-171 ;  given  com- 
mand of  the  army,  171  ;  causes  the  Brit- 
ish to  evacuate  Boston,  171 ;  retreat  of, 
from  Long  Island,  175  ;  condition  of  the 
!  army,  176 ;  crosses  the  Delaware  and  de- 


396 


INDEX. 


feats  the  Hessians,  177 ;  recrosses,   177  ; 

at  Valley  Forge,  181  ;  resigns  command 

of  the  army,  190  ;  elected  President,  200 ; 

death,  220. 

Washington,  Martha,  title  of  "  Lady,"  214. 
Washington,  city  of,  burned  by  the  British, 

260. 

Washita,  battle  of  the,  362. 
Wasp,  sloop-of-war,    captures  the   Frolic, 

252. 

Wayne,  General  Anthony,  219. 
Weathersford,  261. 
Webster,  Daniel,  traits  and  doctrines  of, 

275,  276. 

West,  emigrants  to  the,  236. 
West,  Benjamin,  379. 
West  Indies,  first  seen,  6. 
West  Virginia,  loss  of,  by  the  South,  in  the 

war,  312. 
Whig  party,  rise  of  the,  273,  274 ;  secession 

from,  296  ;  decay  of,  301. 
Whisky  rebellion,  the,  220. 
White,  John,  governor  of  Ralegh's  second 

colony,  18. 

White,  W.,  rescue  of  white  captives  by,  146.  ! 
Whitehall,  179. 
Whitney,  Eli,  366. 
Whittier,  John  G.,  375,  376. 


Wilderness,  battles  of  the,  336. 

Wilkes,  Captain  Charles,  346. 

William  III,  King,  charter  from,  in  1692,  42. 

William  and  Mary  College,  206. 

Williams,  Roger,  banishment  of,  for  his 
faith,  45  ;  founds  Rhode  Island,  45. 

Williamsburg,  battle  of,  319. 

Wilmington,  N.  C.,  344. 

Wilmot  Proviso,  the,  296. 

Wilson's  Creek,  battle  of,  315. 

Winchester,  battle  of,  340. 

Winchester,  General  James,  defeat  of,  255. 

Winthrop,  John,  chcsen  Governor  of  Puri- 
tan Colony,  43  ;  sketch  of,  44. 

Winthrop,  John,  the  younger,  made  Gov- 
ernor of  Connecticut,  44. 

Wisconsin  admitted  to  the  Union,  295. 

Witchcraft,  charms  against,  in  ;  in  Salem, 
112. 

Wolfe,  General  James,  137 ;  death  of,  138. 

Wright,  Silas,  281. 

Writs  of  assistance,  159. 

Yale  College,  207. 

Yeardley,  Sir  George,  34. 

Yorktown,  Va.,  battle  of,  189 ;  siege  of,  319. 

Zollikoffer,  General  F.  K.,  315. 


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